Twins in the Tower
by Simply Amaryllis
Summary: Rapunzel was never an only child - she has a twin brother, Arieh. Like her he has healing abilities. However his are in the form of his voice. When Gothel kidnapped Rapunzel, she took Arieh too, not knowing which would be most useful. Then one day, a thief stumbles across their tower... Eugene Fitzherbert Flynn Rider/Arieh. Slash!
1. Prologue

Chapter 1

Darkness encompassed the land surrounding the kingdom completely. Except for one little spot of light, that is. This light eminated from a lantern carried by a lone figure draped in a cloak as dark as the night. The figure hobbled along slowly, but with purpose. To anybody else, they seemed to be heading towards the middle of nowhere. But the form soon found what they were looking for as they stopped and fell to their knees near the edge of a cliff.

The figure then lifted the hood of their cloak away from their face, revealing an old face with eyes staring greedily at the prize only she knew the location of. Gothel, as the woman was called, reached forwards and grabbed at what appears to be darkness and pulled. It was only then that the prize, a golden flower, was revealed.

Upon setting her eyes on it, the greed that shone in her grey steely eyes grew stronger and a pleased smile spread across her face. Most people had heard of the flower and its magical healing abilities - it could return anyone to their healthiest state with a touch and a song. According to myths, centuries ago the flowers used to grow in fields all over the kingdom. That was, until the locals found out about the properties of the flowers and attempted to harvest them, for their own use and to sell. By the time they realised that the flower lost the healing properties after only a few days of being harvested they had exhausted most of the crop and couldn't seem to successfully grow more. Knowledge of the flower had spread to other kingdoms, which resulted in only one flower being left, hidden away from most. That was until Gothel found it 50 years ago.

_"Flower gleam and glow_

_Let your powers shine_

_Make the clock reverse_

_Bring back what once was mine_

_Heal what has been hurt_

_Change the fates design_

_Save what has been lost_

_Bring back what once was mine_

_What once was mine"_

Gothels voice started the song old and worn out, but by the 5th line it had changed. It was young and bold. Her physical features had also changed at the same time as her voice. Her thin grey hair had thickened and become a deep black. The wrinkles that had once decorated her features harshly were now gone and her pale skin had smoothed out. The only feature that remained the same were her eyes - the greedy gleam to them remained as she put the cover that hid the flower from the world back in place before turning to leave.

What she never realised was that her cloak had caught the woven cover, causing it to topple and fall into the sea below the cliff.

The queen lay in her bed, tired and weak. However, her illness did not wipe the smile of joy off her face at the knowledge of her pregnancy. She was weeks from birth and the pregnancy paired with her unknown ailment had rendered her bed-ridden for the last two months. She rubbed her distended stomach, imagining the children - for she knew there were two - within.

It was then that the king rushed in to the room, heading immediately for the bed to sit next to his wife. Entering behind him was the court physician, a strict but kind elderly man with whispy white hair and slightly shaky hands. He examined her quickly, as he had done every week for the past month, before declaring:

"The sickness is worsening, your Highnesses. At this point, with the state you are in with the pregnancy, there is only one option. However, it is merely a legend. Once, long ago, the land was blessed with a gift of health. It was always said to be down to a flower that glows a golden colour - it could be seen from miles off at night. This flower, if ingested, could cure any illness - it returns a person to the healthiest possible with just a song."

He paused and took a breath, his slight optimism fading, " However, they haven't been seen in this kingdom for years. Although rumours suggest that there is one left, hidden in the forest facing the sea."

Hearing this, the King glanced at the head of the guard, who caught his gaze and nodded subtley before slipping out of the room.

The sound of hooves thundering against the floor of the woods was soothing to William. He knew that the Queen's life was dependent upon the small troop of men that had been sent out in search of the flower.

He had been riding for about half an hour before he spotted it - a flash of gold from the corner of his eye. He pulled at his horse, Maximus', reins and jumped off him. Signalling for Max to stay where he was stood, William strode purposefully towards the glowing object. He knew that there was nothing to fear - it was just a flower. He wandered through the trees, finally breaking out into clear grass. The grass lead to a cliff edge that had a shallow fall before giving way to a larger ledge.

However William was not paying attention to the clearing, but what the clearing contained. A few feet in front of him lay a golden flower. It glowed in the darkness, lighting up the surrounding area with surprising strength. He vaguely noticed a basket-like object on the ground next to the flower, but bore it no mind. Instead, he grabbed the box he had retreived from his room to put the flower in and cut it from the ground. Upon placing the delicate treasure into the box, he stowed it away in his armour and whistled the rest of his team.

He then proceeded to mount Maximus and speed off to the castle, his men following him and a feeling of hope welling up in his chest.

Gordon was tired. That wasn't an uncommon occurance, especially with the Queen's illness and pregnancy. Ever since her illness had renderred her bed-ridden, he was used to being awakened in the dead of night with news of new symptoms or scares. So when there was a round of insistent knocking on the door of his quarters, he just sighed and heaved his old body out of bed and shuffled over to stop the noise.

Opening the door, he saw the Head of the Guards cradling a small wooden box against his middle protectively. Gordon gave the younger man a look that suggested he wanted this interaction to be over-with. I response, the guard passed the wooden box to Gordon, opening it as he did so. In doing that he revealed the golden glowing flower that he had been describing to the Rulers earlier that day.

The sight of it seemed to give Gordon a blast of energy that sent him hurrying back into his rooms to grab his medical equipment before running out of the door and towards the royal chambers, grabbing the box off the startled guard on the way and ordering him to fetch the King from his rooms.

Ignoring his old and tired joints, he jogged to the Queen's chambers, only pausing to knock speedily before entering despite receiving no immediate answer. Once inside he started setting up his equipment on the dressing table, placing the flower delicately on the side next to his cauldron. He started mixing, not paying attention as the Queen awoke and attempted to find out what he was doing. In fact, he only responded to her questions when the King pulled gently on his shoulder and demanded he listen to his Queen.

It was then that he responded to the Queen's questions - "The flower, the one I described earlier, has been found by your guards. I am able to make an elixir out of it that will save you, Your Majesty!"

In a very similar way to Gordon's own response earlier, the King suddenly got a lease of energy and a light of hope and happiness entered his eyes.

"Well, we better leave you to it then!" The king pronounced happily before joining his wife on the bed and whispering to her sweetly, happy smiles spreading on their tired faces.


	2. Twins

Chapter 2

It had taken the physician, Gordon, most of the night to mix, simmer and boil. However, the second it was cooled enough to drink without burning it was passed to the Queen in an ornate goblet that had been placed next to Gordon by the Queen's lady-in-waiting.

Holding it in her weak hand, she forgot all ettiquette and guzzled the drink down. She was too ill and too desperate to save her own life and the lives of her children to care about the way she was behaving in front of her King and his men. Just minutes after she had emptied the goblet, it seemed as if energy was returning to her. Suspecting that it was the flower, she turned to her husband who was staring at her face in amazement.

She was soon made aware of the reasons for his expression when her lady-in-waiting, Kathleen, passed her a hand-held mirror. Lifting it to her face, she jolted slightly upon seeing the gold irises that had replaced her own green ones.

Looking back up to her husband she smiled, "It's working."

Two weeks later, Gordon was returning to the Queen's chambers in a similar state of urgency as the night when the guards had found the flower. However, this time there was a joyous but just as stressful reason for his running - the heirs to Corona's throne were arriving.

A mirror of two weeks ago, the aged physician knocked once before bursting in finding the Queen to be curled on the bed around her stomach. She was clutching at her maid's hand tightly, grunting at the pain of the contractions that were starting to increase in frequency.

Over the next hours the contractions became worse and more frequent and the Queen became closer and closer to exhaustion. By the fifth hour of the dark-haired woman's labour, the first baby appeared.

Unlike the monarch and his queen, who boasted brown locks, the little girl had tufts of golden hair sticking up in all directions. Gordon suspected that it was a result of the flower. It didn't take long for the baby to start crying to the relief of the old physician. But as he handed the baby back to the midwife he knew that he couldn't relax yet - there was another baby that needed birthing yet.

It took another two hours before the midwives handed him the second child. Unlike his sister, he shared his parent's hair colour. He was a lot quicker to cry than her too, but his cries calmed the chaos that had taken over the room.

It was late at night, the palace was asleep. For the first time in months, the two royal babies were sleeping through the whole night and it seemed that the whole castle were taking the opportunity to rest. The twins themselves were nestled up against it other peacefully. The little girl had hair to her shoulders despite her young age and it glowed golden in any light. Her brother's hair was shorter, sticking up at angles. However it had been noticed that his cries had the ability to calm any situation.

When the night had reached the start of its second hour, the silence of the royal chambers was disturbed by a near-silent tapping on the window as someone was trying to get in. The tapping only stopped when the balcony door opened to reveal a frail form hidden under a dark cloak.

Gothel moved swiftly and silently towards the cradle that she knew housed the two gidted children. As soon as she had heard the news of the Queen's miraculous recovery she knew that it was the reason for the disappearance of her precious flower. She spent the months that she had before she got to a state of need planning. The pale woman knew that all she needed to do was to sneak into the castle and retrieve a clipping of the princess' hair.

However, as she cut the fair from the babe it turned from the golden colour she knew was a result of the flower to the rich brunette that her family held. Clenching her fists and scowling, she took a moment to gather her thoughts and form a new plan. She looked to the boy, seeing if he could be of any value before grabbing the two of them and running. Her hasty leave caused the cot to be knocked over, alerting the two sleeping parents to the intruder. However, by the time that they were aware of the lost children, Gothel was already stowing away into the night.

The accident happened when the twins were 13. After Gothel had taken the twins, she soon discovered that singing the tune that activated the flower's power also worked with Rapunzel's hair. The magic had also affected Arieh's voice - any words that left his mouth were instantly calming, and if he sang the song when Gothel was brushing his sisters hair, the magic was stronger and lasted longer.

Whenever she left on errands, she would take Arieh along with her to help - having grown his hair to around his ears he no longer looked like the missing prince and so she felt it was safe to let him out. To the great saddness of both twins, Rapunzel was still to recognisable and so was not allowed to leave the tower.

It was a cold winter morning, and Gothel had asked Arieh to collect fire wood to stock up for the rest of the winter. She had joined him, collecting wood a few meters away. Not noticing that he was heading away from his mother, the thirteen year-old continued to pick up dried wood that would burn well. Due to his lack of attention, he didn't realise that he had come across a clearing where a small family were sitting. When he did register that he wasn't alone, he smiled and greeted them. However, it only took him a few seconds to notice the ill look that the family displayed. His smile turned into a frown and he looked at them sadly before thinking of what he does when his mother is ill.

He crept towards them and they shark back in fear, "Don't worry. I can help you."

He held his arm out towards them, "Rest your hand on my arm. Go on, it will help, I promise"

The family slowly and feebly did as he told them and he started to sing:

_"Flower gleam and glow_

_Let your powers shine_

_Make the clock reverse_

_Bring back what once was mine_

_Heal what has been hurt_

_Change the fates design_

_Save what has been lost_

_Bring back what once was mine_

_What once was mine"_

Ending his song, he looked over the family, smiling in relief as the signs of illness left them. The group examined themsleves in wonder before the father turned to him.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Ari-" He was stopped mid-sentence by a hand grabbing his arm. He turned around to see his mother with a furious expression on her face. He shrunk back, knowing that she wasn't happy that he had shared his gift with strangers. She pulled him away from the small huddle of people who shouted a thank you after him.

Once they had reached the hidden clearing where the tower was located, his mother stopped and let his arm go. Not knowing what to do, Arieh just stood and waited, looking up at the older woman.

"How dare you?! What were you thinking, showing people your gift?"

"They were ill... I couldn't leave them there to die mother!" Arieh insisted. Not even seconds after he had spoken his cheek was stinging from the slap that his mother had bestowed on him. The thirteen year-old stared wide-eyes up at his mother in shock.

"You are never to leave this tower again! If you do, this punishment will seem to be nothing in comparison."

His eyes teared up and he looked down at the grass. "B-but-"

"No. Now, lets go inside." She proceeded to call up to Rapunzel, letting Arieh know that she was finished discussing the matter. The blonde hair came tumbling down the wall of the tower in a cascade. Having dropped to its full length, his mother pushed Arieh forwards and he grabbed onto the hair to be pulled up.

Once he was in the tower, Rapunzel gave him a hug in way of greeting before throwing her hair out of the tower again before their Mother got impatient.

It was that day, when he was forbidden to leave the tower like his sister, that he slowly started to talk less and less. At first it was just that he used fewer words to get his points across. Then he just stopped trying to make the point. The only one who he spoke to was Rapunzel. He wouldn't even sing for Gothel, no matter how much she hit him. Instead he just sat on his bed whilst his twin sung the song that made their Mother young again.


	3. Flynn

An adolescent, with dark brown hair that looked almost black and brown eyes to match sat on a scruffily made bed in the corner of a used and worn room. There was a wooden door, only just on its hinges on the opposite wall and through it the boy could hear the sounds of other children playing.

He took no notice of the children though, even as one of them fell against his door with a bang. Instead he continued to read his book - The Adventures of Flynnigan Ryder. It was his favourite, had been since he was a young boy. That was years ago. His birthday was coming up in two weeks and he would be 18 and free of the oppressive walls of the orphanage.

He did love the place really, but he wanted _adventure_! He wanted to get into fights and ride a horse to somewhere new. And more than anything, he wanted what he hadn't had since he was 3 - a family. He hid this desire behind a wall, not wanting to get hurt. He had lost his Father to illness and his mother couldn't support him on her own. Eventually she told him to take a note to the big stone building near the forest. It turned out that she had packed and fled and that the building was an orphanage, who took him in when they read the note.

He didn't care what form that family took - brothers and sisters, parents or children. He'd take any or all, he just wanted someone to call _his_ family. Eugene had already packed his belongings, and they sat in a small sack under his bed.

He hated his name - Eugene Fitzherbert. It sounded... useless. Like it belonged to a boring man who lived a dull life. No achievements. Nothing. Flynnigan - Flynn - Ryder was a much better name. That name belonged to a man who lived an amazing and exciting life running around the Kingdom and the ones surrounding, meeting people and seeing extraordinary sights.

That's who he wanted to be. And that's who he will be from the day of his 18th birthday onwards.

5 years later...

His breath was loud in his ears as he sprinted through the forest. Flynn could feel the wind whipping around him and hear the thud of three pairs of feet. Glancing behind him, he saw the identical faces of the two men he had joined with for this job. He had every intention of losing them the first chance he got. The only issue being that they had the bag. That bag held two of the most valuable items in the Kingdom - the crowns of The Missing Heirs.

In the distance he could hear the thundering hooves and the shouts of the Guards as they chased after the three criminals. It was at that point when they encountered a ledge, where he turned to the two men.

"Either of you fancy giving me a hand up?" He questioned, out of breath. He needed to do more exercise. You'd think running from the authorities on a regular basis would improve one's running ability.

The scarred twins scowled at him before one of them stepped forward and held his hands out in a cup shape. Flynn made a show of balancing himself and hoisting his tired body up. In doing so, he leant on the other brother causing him to lose his grip on the satchel. As soon as his hand lost contact with the loot, Flynn was off, leaving the two brawny men to the Guards quickly approaching.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, knowing the Guards were occupied, he looked aroung him for a good hiding spot to wait the hunt out. Seeing a rock with ivy covering it, he ran and hid underneath. However, upon moving the flora he found that it wasn't solid rock. In fact, it was a tunnel that lead to a clearing. In the centre of the clearing was a tower that looked to be several storeys high. However, there was no visible door - only a window near the top of the tower.

Ignoring the tired burn of his body, he pulled out the two daggers he had on him at all times and scaled the wall up to the window. Arms and legs screaming at him, he hauled himself through the opening and flopped onto the floor before straigtening himself. And that was the last thing he remembered.

The next time he opened his eyes, there was cold water dripping from his hair and off the end of his nose. He flexed the few muscles he seemed to be able to move, feeling an ache setting in from the running. Flynn then took the time to examine his surroundings. He was still inside the tower, by the looks of the view from the window. The tower was circular and contained two beds, a table and a two dressers.

And then Flynn looked down. He was tied to a basic wooden chair with what appeared to be hair. Following the trail of hair, he saw a two dark silhouettes perched up in the rafters. One of them jumped down upon seeing his eyes gaze up at them. The figure stepped out of the darkness and it was revealed that they were a female. It only took him moments to realise that the hair tying him was hers, and was long. Like seriously long. He'd never seen hair so long... He shook himself out of the daze he had worked himself into about her hair when she slunk towards him cautiously, and he watched her with amused eyes.

"Hey, darlin'. What's your name?" The darked haired man asked with a note of well-earned (in his opinion) arrogance in his voice.

"Why do you want to know?"

He looked at her quizically, not noticing the soft thud of a second person jumping down from the beams supporting the ceiling. It was only when a masculine version of the female's face popped up behind her that he realised that the second figure was no longer above him.

"I just thought that it'd be nice to know the identity of the person holding me hostage." He smiled causally, hiding his concern at his inability to move.

The blonde hesitated and looked at the boy behind her. They stared at each other for a couple of seconds before she proclaimed, "Well, I'm Rapunzel and behind me is my twin brother Arieh..."

Flynn nodded his head, taking in the information. Then another question, considerably more important than the last appeared in his head.

"I have another question - why have you got me tied to a chair in your tower?"

Again the two before him paused.

"_You_ were the one to climb up into the tower! Surely that means you want us for our gifts. And we won't let you use us! So we tied you up and hid that satchel you had with you. And you will only get it back if you do something for us."

It was only then that Flynn realised that his satchel wasn't lying across his shoulder as it had been before he blacked out. He cursed to himself quietly before asking them what they wanted for his prize.

"We want you to take us to the celebrations that we always see - the one with the lights. We've never been before and we've always wanted to go. It's out 18th birthday in three days and we are desperate to go!"

Whislt the girl, Rapunzel, was stating their conditions, Ari-something or other (he's not the best with names) was moving a heavy curtain from its position against the wall to reveal an image of the night sky filled with 'the lights'. Flynn stared a moment and tried to work out what lights they were talking about. Then he realised that they meant the lanterns that were released on the anniversary of The Missing Heirs. He voiced as much, and the girl smiled excitedly and nodded.

The 23 year-old stared for a moment longer, startled how simple the request was, "You two are very sheltered aren't you?"

The male, Arieh, glared at him before rolling his eyes. Flynn realised that yet again he had missed the boy's movements and had only noticed his return to the position in front of him when the cerulean glower was aimed towards him.

"Are you going to take us or not?" The petite blonde demanded, attempting to look tough and just looking like a tiny puppy yapping at a shadow (Awww).

Flynn continued to stare further before sighing, "Fine..."

As soon as the word had left his lips, the blonde was squealing and grabbing her twin in a hug that looked uncomftably tight. Arieh (yaaay! He remembered his name again! He definitely deserved a pat on the back for that one) seemed to agree from the strained look on his face. Flynn sighed again - this was going to be interesting.

"Now, if you're finished killing your brother, I kinda need to not be tied to a chair in order to take you to the celebrations."


	4. Help

Arieh loved his sister, he really did, but she could really get on a guy's nerves!

They had been walking for a few hours now, and she had been constantly jumping between gleeful cries of joy at her freedom and sobs of guilt at leaving their mother. Arieh himself didn't particularly care that they had left the cow behind - she had been horrible to him his whole life, especially since 'The Incident' as Rapunzel called it.

He hadn't talked since that day, but that wasn't because he was scared of her. It was because he resented her - If she didn't want him helping others, he wouldn't help her either. Sadly, Rapunzel still did sing for her, so she still reaped the benefits of the magic.

For the dark-haired young man, the escape that Flynn Rider had provided for him was a gift sent from a deity, if they exist. Arieh knew that Flynn found his twin extremely frustrating with her rapid swings between emotions. They shared an exasperated look as she started weeping loudly as she tugged at her hair despairingly, questioning her reasoning as to why she had left the safety of the tower.

Finally, Flynn spoke up, "Shall we go somewhere? I need a drink of something myself and by the looks of it, you two do too."

Arieh looked at his twin and sighed before nodding, "Any suggestions then?"

The older man perked up after a moment, "The Snugly Duckling - they do some good ale!"

He then proceeded to walk in a random direction, attempting to get his bearings. Within 20 minutes they were headed in what Flynn claimed was the direction of the tavern. Whilst they were walking, the dark-haired man attempted to start a conversation with his younger male companion.

"Hey so, have you never been out of that tower ever?"

The brunet male just glanced at him before continuing to look forwards at the vague path that had appeared in the forest ground, indicating that it had been walked many times. Flynn just shrugged his shoulders at the undesired reaction and continued the one-sided coversation, "It's just, you have to have gone out! You're 18! Surely you've left at least _once_!"

Again, he just got a glance. Sighing, he turned to Rapunzel instead, "Is your brother always like this? You know, not talking? Or is it me?"

Rapunzel had by now stopped to-ing and fro-ing between regret and excitment, and had instead settled for a calm but happy affect. "Arieh doesn't talk to anyone but me. And even then, it's rare." Flynn hummed to show he had heard, and looked to the younger man who had continued on ahead when the guide and his twin had started conversing.

Arieh continued to follow the path, that had become more and more defined the further that they followed it unitl they reached an average-sized building that bore a sign announcing its name to be The Snuggly Duckling. When she saw the sign, Rapunzel picked up her speed and bounced in through the door, only to freeze when her brain caught up with what she could see.

Contrary to what their guide had told them, the room was filled with muscled men with menacing expressions on their faces and tattoos and scars to match. They all looked up towards the doors when Rapunzel slammed through them, but soon lost interest as she began to panic.

Rapunzel turned to Arieh - who had walked into the tavern behind her - and he noticed that she had started to hyperventilate. She had stepped into a room full of men that their mother had drilled into them that they should avoid at all costs. He got her attention by placing an arm around her shoulders and mimed deep breathing, indicating her to follow. She eventually got a hold of her nerves, but her breathing was still shaky as they moved from the door of the building towards the corner table where Flynn had settled, his muddy boots resting on the scuffed and stained wooden table.

"Alright Blondie?" Flynn's dark hair flopped into his eyes slightly, and he flicked it out as he stared enquiringly at said blonde, who was looking fearfully around at the bulky bodies that were surrounding them. Arieh glared at the older man before huffing and sitting down heavily onto a stool and scratching at the table surface. Rapunzel soon did the same - but not before scooting the seat up next to her brothers, to the point where she was almost sat on top of him. The brunet just rolled his eyes and let her be.

Just as she started to properly relax, a large man with equally as large hands came up behind them and grabbed Flynn by the shoulders. Flynn cried out as he was pulled up from his seat and levelled with a 'WANTED' poster. The large man then turned to the others that had gathered behind him, "Someone, go and fetch a guard." Flynn groaned and let his head fall back in exasperation.

"This is not me! I mean, look at it!" He gestured to the poster that clealry depicted him with the exception of a rather unflattering and inaccurate nose, " That nose alone is in no way similar to mine! Therefore, it can't be me!"

But by that point, a man had already run out of the door to retreive a member of the royal guard. Seeing their only way to finding the source of the lights being taken from them, Rapunzel and Arieh stood and slipped through the crowd of sweaty men to reach the front. Upon reaching the destination, Arieh lay a hand on his twin's shoulder and nodded in encouragment.

Rapunzel nodded reluctantly back, still nervous around the men who averaged out at around a foot taller than her. It was times like this that she wished Arieh would just talk! "Please can you let this man go? He's our only hope of finding the lights that we - my brother and I - have _dreamed_ about since we can remember! Aaand they always appear on our birthday, and it's mean to stop someone from getting their biggest and deepest dream fulfilled on their _birthdays_!"

The petite blonde stopped talking and, having pulled up a facade of confidence, glared up at the leader of the group, attempting to be menacing. Unsurprisingly, the men weren't intimidated by Rapunzel. Nor were they scared when Arieh came uo behind her and gave them an identical glare, crossing his arms and displaying an espression of stubbornness.

Flynn, still being forced against the wall by the thug, just watched the twins attempts at defending them. He knew that their chances of success were thin but he still hoped. You never know, they might be easily swayed by adorable twins attempting to scare them?

The only sounds in the tunnel were of their breathing and their footfalls as they hurried through in an attempt to get away from the guards. It had all been going surprisingly well - it turns out that Flynn's speculations had come to fruition as the tough men caved almost instantly for the deep blue eyes that had glared at them. However, their jolly celebrations had been interrupted when the guards appeared at the door. Luckily, they'd had a moment of warning and so had been sent down a into a hidden passage.

That was where they were now. Rapunzel was almost jogging to keep up with Flynn, and Arieh was trailing behind her, making sure that the ends of her hair were kept of the floor. The older man imagined that he was mentally berating his older sister for letting it drag on the floor like that ('You don't know what is on that floor!').

His humorous thoughts were put to a stop though, as the trio heard a curious thundering coming from behind them. When he looked behind him, the dark haired man's eyes widened with alarm as he saw a small group of guards running at them.

"RUN!"

For once, the twins _actually_ did what he said without question. He didn't have time to stand back and marvel at the occurance though. Instead, he took off after them until they reached a ledge. Upon reaching it, they peered over, realising that if they jumped, it wouldn't be to safety.

Instead, Flyyn pushed them towards a wooden channel filled with water that flowed from one end of the cavern to a pool. Rapunzel sent Arieh down first, pushing her younger sibling down like it was a water slide. Once he was half way, she jumped in too, her hair flying freely behind her.

Rapunzel was barely a meter down from where she had jumped into the channel, but she suddenly felt excrutiating pain from her scalp. She turned to see that two men, also twins, had grabbed her by the end of her hair. She tried desperately to pull herself free, but they'd somehow gotten a secure grip and had no intentions of letting go. Instead they pulled her up the channel by her blonde tresses. And that was when she passed out.

Arieh felt his sister push him down the channel and, despite the situation, he couldn'y help but enjoy the rush of adrenaline that he experienced. He'd never felt this _alive_ before! It was in that moment that he decided that he was never going back to the tower.

Once he had jumped out of the wooden slide and could tell the difference between left and right, he turned, ready to greet his twin. Suddenly the grin that had grown on his face fell as he watched the one person he loved being hauled over a large mans shoulder. Another man, identical in appearance from Arieh's view, had his twin's hair bunched in his hands carelessly.

Not knowing what to do, Arieh looked up at Flynn. The older man was currently engaged in a sword fight with a horse. The brunet knew he needed to get the thief's attention. He had a chance of saving Rapunzel! If he just turned and he could catch them before they left. So he did the only thing he could think to do - he screamed.


	5. Heal

**Hi, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Hope that 2016 treats you well and thank you guys soooooo much for reading my stuff!**

**By the way, if you actually read this then I like you. You're awesome.**

Flynn spun around upon hearing the scream, completely forgetting the horse that had charged at him with his fallen rider's sword.

He first thought that it was Rapunzel - she was the only one of the two he was with that talked. However, when he looked in the direction that the noise came from, his eyes met the green ones of Arieh. When his brain caught up with the fact that _Arieh_ had _spoken_ he followed the nearly-eighteen year-old's wild gestures towards a ledge on the other side of the channel. On that ledge he saw the Stabbington brothers. One of them had a struggling Rapunzel flung over their shoulder. The other was gripping her hair tightly. He could only see part of her face, but there were streams of tears rolling down it as she kicked and wriggled in an attempt to loosen the large man's grip on her waist.

The raven-haired man searched frantically for some way to get to her, and after a moment's thought (which felt like minutes) he jumped on the platform, causing it to wobble. The wobble grew to become a wave of unsteadiness. Within seconds, the channel was collapsing. But that didn't matter to Flynn. It was time to live up to the name he chose.

He leapt towards the little shelf that the brothers were stood on. Just as his fingers touched the ground by their feet, the twin grasping the blonde's hair flicked his booted foot out, and it connected with Flynn's temple. The action sent him flying backwards, towards the huge flow of water that had developed due to the collapsing woodwork. His head smacked against one of the remaining supporting columns with a sickening 'CRACK'. And the last thing he saw before unconsciousness was the backs of the two kidnappers and the scared green eyes of Rapunzel, begging him to help.

As he watched his sister disappear into the tunnel, Arieh felt tears roll down his cheeks. His sister had been taken! If she had gone first, she would be safe, and he would be the one that they had. But instead she had pushed him down.

He looked away from the dark hole and instead looked down at the remains of the water channel. About 10 meters away, he noticed a weird lump. He slowly snuck up behind before realising it was the unconscious body of his guide.

He hesitated for a second, before storming forward and grabbing the older man by his right arm and hauling him up so that the arm was over his shoulder. The brunet then proceeded to drag the man at a slow and steady pace towards the woods that surrounded the mine-like structure. Soon enough, it was dark and Arieh had exhausted all of his energy for the day.

It took him half an hour to find a suitable place to stay for the night - there was a clearing that was not immediately visible. If anyone did intrude upon the area then they had to pass through a wide river. At their backs was a low cliff-face from a large rock deposit.

Arieh then promptly passed out on the ground next to Flynn.

Upon waking the next day, Flynn immediately noticed that he had a thumping headache that seemed to originate from his forehead. He gingerly lifted a hand up to prod at the area, before hissing and withdrawing his hand speedily upon the smarting pain he experienced.

It was the pain that caused a flood of memories to ambush him. Running from the Royal Guard. The Stabbington brothers. Rapunzel getting kidnapped. Arieh's scream. Upon reminder of the younger male, Flynn flicked his eyes around the clearing. The breath he didn't know he was holding flew out from his lungs upon seeing the brunet lying asleep on the ground to his right.

As if sensing his gaze, the teen stirred and one eye opened to peak at him, "What?"

The word was whispered and raspy, but it sent a wave of calm over Flynn. Weird. He blinked and snapped himself out of it. The older man opened his mouth to respond before realising he did not know what to say to the other. He had just spoken for the second time in 24 hours.

"How are you?"

Arieh scowled at him before replying, "How do you think? My twin sister has just been kidnapped by two thugs." Flynn winced at the harsh response, but did not say anything. Instead he just nodded to convey his understanding. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, unsure of what to say to each other. After a while, the darker-haired man sighed and stood, offering his hand to the younger.

"We need to find your sister. I'd say the best place to start would be where we last saw them, right?"

It took them about an hour and a half to get to the platform where they had last seen Rapunzel. Standing there, Arieh felt tears well up in the corner of his eyes. But he refused to cry more - it wasn't going to help Rapunzel any, so what good did it do?

He turned to Flynn, who was peering down the tunnel that the twin's had taken the blonde down. Despite his mannerisms, he was incredibly grateful to the older man for helping him. He wouldn't have a clue about how to track his twin - the joys of a sheltered (understatement, much?) upbringing.

He knew that his sudden decision to speak to Flynn had shocked him, but really, it was the logical thing to do. Not talking was not only lonely for them both, but it would hopefully help them find Rapunzel faster. If he talked, they could plan and swap knowledge.

"What're we going to do then?" His voice still sounded like something out of a ghost story, and that really annoyed him. Whilst he understood that it was obviously going to sound off until he got used to using it more, that didn't make it any more fun. He hated sounding like he should be hiding in a cave draped in a black robe, ready to jump out at unsuspecting children.

The raven-haired man turned to look at Arieh. "I was thinking we could follow the tunnel and see if there are any indications of their whereabouts - like footprints or bits of torn fabric. I also know a few of their 'secret' hideouts (they're not very discrete). They may be heading to one of those." The brunet nodded and they set off in silence down the dark tunnel.

As they walked, Arieh was suddenly reminded of Flynn's injury. The kick in the head followed by him hitting his head on the wooden beam had left several nasty gashes on his head and face. Although he tried to hide it, Arieh could tell it was causing his guide pain. He weighed his options in his head: to heal or not to heal. On the one hand, if he didn't heal him, he wouldn't be revealing his power and therefore would be a lot safer. But, on the other hand, Flynn would be more efficient and so would be able to find his sister faster. And his caring side (yes, he had one!) hated leaving someone in pain. The brunet refused to acknowledge the fact that, on top of these reasons, he just didn't like seeing _Flynn_ in pain.

His mind made up, he resolved to heal Flynn when they got out of the cavern that they were trekking through. 20 minutes later, they reached the mouth of the tunnel, and Arieh felt nerves well up in his stomach, like angry birds determined to peck his stomach to pieces.

Despite this, he stopped and turned to the older man. Flynn, noticing his companion wasn't next to him anymore, turned - "Are you alright?"

"As good as I can be, considering the circumstances. I need to do something though." The raven-haired man's eyebrow raised in curiosity, but he stepped closer upon Arieh's command, "Stay completely still now."

The 17 year old - he couldn't believe he would wake up 18 tomorrow - held his hands out in a calming gesture before resting them on the other's face. One was resting gently on the gash on his forehead and the other on his cheek, covering the bruises that had formed there from his fall.

_"Flower gleam and glow_

_Let your powers shine_

_Make the clock reverse_

_Bring back what once was mine_

_Heal what has been hurt_

_Change the fates design_

_Save what has been lost_

_Bring back what once was mine_

_What once was mine."_

As the song was completed, he felt peacefulness rush through him as the magic flew through his limbs and into the 23 year-old. Flynn gasped, obviously feeling his powers working. As much as Arieh saw his powers as a burden, it was moments like this that made it worth it.

He opened his eyes (when had he closed them?) and withdrew his hands from the other. When he saw Flynn staring at him looking about ready to explode with shock, he blushed, "So, I guess now would be the right time to tell you that my voice has magic properties?"


	6. Eugene

Flynn looked at Arieh like he had a second head, a tiny squeak escaping from him. Looking at the other man, Arieh just sighed, all the tension that had built up in anticipation for the older male's reaction rushing out of him. "Yes, I know. I can heal you with my voice. Yay for me."

Despite his earlier nerves, he found that now he had healed the man before him, he had developed a sudden confidence. Why was he worrying? Whilst he knew Flynn might freak, he trusted him enough not to try and hurt him.

"Ahh- Ok, oookaaay, O-K. I can deal with this. You sing, and I'm healed? Can I ask – what the hell is in the water near that tower?"

The brunet glared at his companion, and stalked away from the mouth of the tunnel. "If you must know, I was born with it. And please don't tell anyone – I'd rather not be exploited for my voice. The idea just doesn't appeal to me as a career choice."

Flynn followed afterwards, still trying to process the idea that Arieh could heal people with his voice. He has a magical voice. It wasn't a bad sensation – the opposite actually. The young man's voice had been calming and strong, and his hands were smooth against Flynn's face as the magic worked its way around his body. Just hearing his voice always helped him feel good. Feeling his voice – the only way he could think to describe the sensation – was energising!

Arieh hadn't walked 5 feet before he stopped a turned to Flynn. "So… do you have any idea how we're going to find those guys?"

Flynn looked around, wishing that there was some sort of clue – a shred of cloth on a branch, a mess of broken and disturbed plants, a great big sign proclaiming 'this way!'. Any of those would be nice. Sadly, none of those were noticeable to his untrained eyes. He sighed, knowing this would be a slow day.

"I have absolutely no clue. Although!" He shouted proudly, "I do remember where one of their hide-outs is. If we can get to the nearest town, I will be able to find it from there. And before you open that grumpy mouth o' yours – they don't know that I am aware of it so no, they won't have abandoned it."

Arieh huffed, as he had indeed opened his mouth to protest the idea. He was not grumpy. Sadly, the younger man didn't realise that his sulking over the matter made his mood appear more 'grumpy' than normal. Flynn just smirked.

"So you're saying we just walk? Until we find somewhere-?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying Arieh!" Flynn chirped back. Annoying cute brunets was one of his favourite past times. And anybody would agree that Arieh is particularly cute. Flynn often found himself just wanting to hold him tight and protect him. However, that fantasy always shattered when he thought about the *insert injury here* he'd receive if he ever _actually_ tried to do that.

But a man could dream, right?

Flynn himself didn't really know what to make of all these random feelings that were popping up now and then. They all focused around Arieh, which in Flynn's opinion was weird as he'd never had these thoughts about another guy. He wasn't about to go into a panic though – that wasn't his style (he ignored the slight manic state he'd been in earlier). He was cool, and awesome and so if he had flickers of feeling for a man then so what? What did bother him was that they just kept on sneak attacking him! One minute, they'd be talking and then BAM! – Flynn's admiring his eyes, or his laugh, or how he watches the birds jumping from tree to tree.

In a way, it worked out well for him. If he ended up with a man one day then he wouldn't have to bring up children. He shuddered at the thought. There were two main reasons the idea of his offspring running around terrified him to the core. Firstly, he'd grown up in an orphanage. Therefore he'd had a lifetime's worth of exposure to them. Secondly, with him as a role model, he doesn't want to know what will be created.

All he knew was, to him, men and women held the same appeal to him. And, he admitted to himself, he was surprised with how alright he was about it all. The surprise of course soon turned to pride – he was such a mature guy! He had a grin on his face for the rest of the day, much to the confusion and slight paranoia of his companion.

It had taken them about 3 hours to reach the nearest sign of civilisation – a little farming village that went by the name of Burk. The two men had stayed there for the night before setting off at first light the following day. According to Flynn, they should reach the hide-out before nightfall.

Arieh could feel a sense of anticipation building inside of him. They were so close to getting his twin back. Just one more day. For most of the walk, Flynn chattered on about this and that – his life as a thief, what he would do if he were a nobleman with too much money etc. Arieh would have felt bad about tuning most of it out, except that he'd quickly learnt that talking was the dark-haired man's way of processing. He'd talk about one thing, whilst thinking of something completely different.

However, the near 18-year-old found that, when the other fell silent, he missed the noise. So he decided to prompt him a little. "So Flynn, do you have any secrets you wish to share? It would only be fair, seeing as you know about my voice." He teased.

"Nope! I am a completely open book!"

"Really?" The shorter deadpanned. Everybody has _something_. He levelled an intense stare at the other man, who matched it for about a minute before giving.

"Fine… Flynn isn't my real name."

Arieh waited patiently for elaboration that never came. "So…"

"'So…' what?"

"What's your real name? Honestly!"

"…Eugene Fitzherbert." Flynn, or rather Eugene, refused to look at Arieh for his reaction.

"Ok."

"I hide it because it feels weak to me! Flynn sounds awesome – like me! Eugene sounds like a guy with a 'normal' life."

"Well, I like it."

"Oh. Well thanks, I suppose."

After that awkward exchange, the two started properly conversing, mostly comparing their childhoods. Having revealed his name Eugene was more open about his history. However, they were quickly silenced when they reached their destination.

It wasn't noticeable at first – it just looked like any other part of the forest. Trees surrounded them in every direction, and there was very little light being let in through the dense canopy above. Arieh only spotted the entrance to the den when Eugene pulled him back against him and pointed out a medium-sized hole in the ground. Even then, it took the slighter man a moment to get past the feeling of the other pressed against him.

The hole was definitely easy to miss – it just looked like an animal burrow. But upon ascertaining that there was no 'big scary men' (Eugene's words) home, they slid in to an area that was definitely man made. It was essentially a cave, but had wooden supports stopping the ceiling from giving in.

The pair stood there a moment, only realising now that they'd not planned for when they arrived.

"Ok, chances are they will have knocked Rapunzel out, or tied her up or something and left her here whilst they do their work. No offense to your sister, but she would have weighed them down too much to be taken with them. So now we just need to find which bit of this thing she's in."

Arieh nodded, willing the uneasy feeling to disappear. They were fine. Just find Rapunzel and go. Simple. The two decided to stick together, and work their way through each chamber. The first following the entrance just seemed to have a crate. Upon closer inspection, it was filled with jewels. Arieh dragged Eugene past. This room split off in two directions. Clambering through the hole on the right, it was soon discovered to be a storage room.

That left the last chamber. His twin had to be in there. They inched in, and let their eyes adjust. Nothing.

Arieh stopped where he was and punched at the wall of the room. "Damnit!" He whispered loudly, not feeling comfortable shouting in someone else's hidden lair. He kicked at the dusty floor in frustration, but his foot got caught in some sort of material. Bending down, he grabbed it, tugging but it didn't give.

Once the two men had disappointedly clambered out of the hole, he sat down to untangle his foot. Maybe they hadn't taken here there after all?

That thought died when he focused on what exactly was wrapped around his foot. A long section of pink fabric. Rapunzel's dress. He lifted his head to call for Eugene. Only, before he could show him the rag, he noticed the two hulking figures stealthily approaching him from behind.

"Eugene!"

He launched himself at the older man, and pulled him backwards just in time to miss a punch to the jaw.


	7. Fight

**Hey guys – not much to say this time other than enjoy!**

Coming to, Rapunzel tried to get her bearings but it was difficult. She seemed to be in some sort of cave, or burrow, but the light was dim so it was hard to tell which. She tried to move her hands, and realised that they were tied behind her with thick rope. The blonde struggled against them, and to her immense relief they loosened an inch. That was all she needed.

Rapunzel pulled her hands free and inspected them as well as she could – due to the lack of skill used to tie her up, there were barely any marks. After checking the rest of her body, she noticed that the only damage was a few cuts and bruises, and her dress was ripped around the bottom. Pleased at the small victory, the teen slipped over to the opening of the 'room' and peered through. The opening lead to a larger space with two other holes, and appeared unoccupied currently. She climbed into the main chamber, and peered through the nearest hole. Storage. Glancing down, she noticed two machete-like swords lying on the floor. They were a little worse for wear, but Rapunzel wasn't feeling picky. She grabbed one and held it in front of herself defensively.

Tip-toeing through to the next chamber, she spotted a way out. The blonde jumped for it, clambering out ungracefully. Then she ran. She had managed to sprint around 30 feet, her hair bunched up in her arms when she felt a tug on her hair. Jolting to a stop, she turned and spotted that some of it had gotten tangled around a branch. Upon closer inspection, the tangle was rather bad.

Sighing, Rapunzel set about untying her hair from the branch when a sudden noise made her scream and jump. "Hello there – how'd you get out then?"

The twins were stood a few feet away with savage grins on their faces as they stared at the trapped teen. Rapunzel froze momentarily and the pair started to stalk towards her. The movement prompted her to start tugging frantically on her hair. She had to get it free and get away!

She waved the machete at them, her hands shaking madly, but they just chuckled and continued advancing. The blonde was feeling more desperate by the second. They just kept on getting closer! The first twin reached her, and Rapunzel lashed out at him, the sword cutting through his outstretched palm harshly, causing him to pull it back and glare. She felt panic setting in, and her hands were shaking too much to get herself free in time. The teen glanced at the brothers. The second was just about to reach her. So she closed her eyes and did the only thing she could think to do.

With a swift swoop of the machete, she cut her hair, and she ran deep into the forest and away from her captors.

#####################

"Eugene!" He turned at the sound of his name only to be grabbed by Arieh and yanked backwards with no small amount of force. The dark-haired man was about to complain when a fist went flying through the air where his head had just been. He blinked and turned just in time to catch a second attack from the brute of a man, twisting and managing to jab a quick punch into his ribs. The twin (he didn't know which one, there's a reason people call them identical…) lunged at him again, attempting to use his weight to take the dark-haired man out.

Glancing around Eugene spotted a hefty-looking branch lying on the floor. He darted in the branch's direction and grabbed the piece of wood, grunting at the weight but persevering. Lugging it above his head, he swung it down into the face of his opponent, grinning with smug pleasure at the thud produced by its collision, along with the noise of the man's nose cracking. He lifted the branch again, noticing that it felt considerably lighter than it had been moments ago – it had snapped in half. Damn. He took a second to kneel and inspect the huge man before him. He was dazed, but he'd be back to fighting in a few minutes.

Eugene stood up and looked around. Arieh was stood to the side with a surprised expression on his face. The other Stabbington Brother was mysteriously absent.

A sudden throbbing pain developed in his knees and cheek as a fist flew out of what seemed like nowhere and collided with the dark haired man. There's the other one! Eugene groaned and stood, spinning around to take aim at the brute. Just as he landed a punch on said man's chin, his feet were swept out from under him. Seems like Stabbington Brother number 1 was back in the game too…

####################

Arieh stared hopelessly as Eugene was jumped by the Stabbington Brothers simultaneously. He had no clue what to do – being locked in a tower your whole life did that to you. His mind was racing, desperately trying to think of some way that he could help. He refused to be the pathetic one who relied on the muscled, strong, attractive older man to help him. Wait, where'd that co-

No. He needed to help Eugene! Suddenly, a little idea popped into his mind. Hadn't there been an old and neglected sword-type thing in their hideout? The brunet jumped into action, sprinting madly for the entrance to the den and sliding in (like a pro!) through the hole. Once he had landed, he clambered into the chamber storage chamber and looked around for the weapon.

There was a glint out of the corner of his eye, and he whipped his head around to look for the cause. There! He threw his body towards it and clutched the handle, hurrying out of the burrow to try and help Eugene.

Having gotten out of the hideout, Arieh took a moment to work out exactly what was going on. Currently, Eugene was kneeling on top of one of the brothers, whose left eye was starting to go an unpleasant shade of purple. The dark-haired man himself was looking to be the worst off of the group – not surprising seeing as he was being beaten by two giants. His nose was bleeding, and the blood was mixing with that from his split lip. There were cuts and bruises forming on what was visible of his arms too.

The other Stabbington brother was stood above the two, trying to simultaneously remove Eugene from on top of his Brother and knock him out. Without thinking, Arieh sprinted forwards and slashed the sword out against the man that seemed to be double his size. The weapon cut through the brute's shirt and left a long shallow gash in his back – not much, but enough for the man to howl in surprise and pain, and turn to direct his attacks on Arieh.

Instead of running away – something the teen desperately wanted to do now that the giant was glaring down at him – he lashed out again with the sword. This time, the blade missed his opponent by several inches. The red-haired twin grinned smugly, pleased at the others failure. Only Arieh hadn't failed. Well, he had, in that he missed his original target of the criminal stood in front of him. However, the sword instead collided with a piece of wood, knocking it away. This caused the large log it had been supporting to groan and collapse. Right on top of the Stabbington brother. He was out cold.

Arieh called out to Eugene excitedly, "I did it! Eugene! I knocked him out!"

His response was a strained chuckle, "That's great and all, but could you do me a quick favour and pass that machete to me?" Looking around, Arieh's eyes widened as he noticed that the other brother had livened up and gotten out from under Eugene. The pair were now wrestling, getting little punches in at each other every few seconds.

He spotted the sword lying on the ground a few feet away where he had dropped it in relief. He ran towards it, only to get intercepted. The brother who had been fighting with Eugene had broken free upon seeing the smaller man's intentions, and charged towards him.

Arieh was knocked to the ground with the larger man on top, his breath knocked out of him. "Eugene!"

#################################

The raven-haired man was already at the machete when his companion called for him. He grasped the weapon in his left hand (his right was broken from a punch he'd angled wrong) and leapt at the pair. Swinging the blade, he dug it into the waist of their attacker – not enough to kill, not that he's miss him if he did die, but just to slow him down. Eugene then grabbed the other's shoulders and pulled with as much strength as he could. He could feel the broken bones in his hand aching as he hauled the red-head off Arieh, their opponent unable to do much other than groan and clutch at his side.

Eugene dropped the man onto the ground and turned quickly to help Arieh up. Holding him at arm's length, he inspected the younger man for injuries. Finding nothing too serious, a smile of relief flitted across his face as he pulled the brunet into a hug. Warmth welled up inside as Arieh sunk into his arms, and the smile turned into a pleased grin as he clutched him tighter.

The hug lasted for a few minutes, but Arieh didn't seem at all bothered – if anything, he relaxed more as each second went by! However, after 3 minutes had passed, Eugene glanced down only to be reminded of what had just happened. He pulled away and stared at their fallen foes. Only one of them was conscious and he glared at them viciously as he held the gash in his side. Eugene grinned at him, but his eyes were hard and cold.

"Okay, so first thing's first – where's Blondie?"


	8. Found

The awake brother just continued to glare in response to the Arieh's older companion. The teen looked around for the sword they had used to take the pair down, and saw it lying a few feet away. He wandered over and grabbed it, before heading back over to where the tall man was being interrogated.

"Tell me where my sister is. Now." Arieh pressed the sword to the man's stomach, giving him a harsh stare. The man just raised his eyebrow mockingly. Not fair. He was scary! The brunet pressed harder, and a small amount of blood started seeping through the giant's shirt. The Stabbington brother hissed in a breath before giving in with a smirk on his face.

"Fine. I may as well tell you – she escaped. Probably lost, or dead by now." Arieh was tempted to press a little harder with the weapon, but pulled back and instead passed it to Eugene and stalked off angrily. He faintly heard Eugene carry on the questioning – 'which way did she go?'; 'how long ago was this?'

Arieh just concentrated on calming down, the fact his powers wouldn't work on the small injuries he'd sustained adding fuel to his anger. He could feel the cuts stinging in his palms as he clenched his fists.

Arms wrapped around his middle, causing the teen to jump with a shriek and turn to identify his attacker. Oh. It was Eugene. "Hey, hey! It's me! I was just trying to calm you down!"

"Well great Job." He grouched. His response was a chuckle, and he stared up at the dark-haired man, inspecting the wounds closely. Arieh wriggled in Eugene's grasp and pushed his arms off from around his waist, freeing his arms so that he could place his hands over the worst of the injuries. He pretended not to notice when the other man returned his arms to their previous position. He also pretended that he wasn't blushing.

As he sang, the two were unable to pull their eyes away from the other. At one point, Arieh could swear he saw Eugene's eyes flicker down to his lips before meeting his gaze again. His flush deepened. That seemed to cause a spark to appear in the taller man's eyes. The song ended, but they continued to hold each other, caught up in the moment.

The brunet suddenly remembered why he was healing his companion and reluctantly let his hands fall from him to his side, and pulled out of his grasp. He looked down at his feet, before raising his eyes back up meet the amber gaze. "So what did he tell you?"

"He said that when she escaped, she went west." Eugene gestured, "And that she did this morning. She will probably have reached the city by now – it's in that direction. If we head there, we can ask around a bit?"

The teen nodded and squared his shoulders. They'll find her soon!

#############################

When she had realised that they were missing, at first she had been worried – what if they were identified? What if she was arrested? What if she never saw them again – her beauty would leave her!

So she had tracked them – they were terrible at covering their tracks. Who knows how she had coped with living with the two morons for so long! It only took her a few hours to locate them. They were with a thief of all people. But just as she was about to take them back to the tower, they were separated. She wasn't bothered about Arieh – he was an insolent brat. No, she wanted Rapunzel. And Rapunzel was missing! She had to find her.

Now, Gothel stood watching. Not the twins though. No, at this moment in time, she was smirking at the man who was currently handing over a child to their relieved parents – it seems the thing had run away, and the man had found it. That was his job. And that was why Gothel needed him.

She studied him, noting the short red hair and grey eyes. He was tall too. Definitely handsome. Perfect for the job. Just as he was turning to leave the village, she forced tears to her eyes and ran out of the forest.

###############################

Niklas smiled gently at the child. He had found him in a nearby village, hiding in a barn to shelter from a storm that left him unable to go home. But now he was safe. The red-haired man pushed him into the arms of his Father, as his mother smiled at the pair in relief.

It was days like this that he loved his job. Reuniting loved ones. As a hunter – of people, not game – he was a talented tracker and was often asked to locate missing people. Humming, Niklas stepped away from the small family and strolled towards the forest. Pondering where to find his next job, he didn't notice the other form until they collided. Due to his height, he managed to stay standing but the other person wasn't so lucky.

He picked the middle-aged woman up, taking in the dark curls and clever eyes that were currently filled with tears. "I'm sorry, my lady, I was lost in thought. Are you okay?"

The question prompted a sad cry from said woman. "No! My daughter! She's gone! I cannot find her anywhere…"

Niklas' concerned look quickly sharpened into a calm and collected one. He could help! "When did you last see her?"

"A couple of days ago, at our home in the forest. I went to pick up some provisions to make soup, but realised that I had forgotten something. When I turned back my darling Rapunzel was gone!" She buried her face in her hands and her shoulders shook with sobs. Trying to reassure her, the hunter laid his hand on her shoulder.

"I will try my best to find her for you. Will you stay at the village so I can find you?"

"Of course! Anything if you can find my daughter!" Smiling kindly, her lead her over to the local inn, and they sat at a table.

"They will provide you with a room for a good price here. Now, what does she look like? Is there anywhere you think that she could be?"

"Well," The woman – who had introduced herself as Gothel – sniffled. "Rapunzel is around so high-" Gothel gestured, "-And has incredibly long blonde hair, and green eyes. It's her eighteenth birthday tomorrow too, I hope she's back by then!" Niklas nodded. Teenager. Blonde. Long hair. Green Eyes. Not too tall. The red-head then repeated his earlier question:

"Is there anywhere that she could have gone to?" The worried woman started to shake her head with a regretful look on her face, before stopping with a thoughtful expression. He leaned forward in his seat, hoping she had thought of somewhere. If nothing else, they were always good starting points.

"Well, she wouldn't stop talking about the lanterns that the citadel set off every year, on the birthday of the lost heirs. She always wanted to see them in person, as they are on her birthday also but… I was never able to take her…" Gothel looked at her hands, which were resting in her lap. Niklas sighed quietly, feeling bad for the woman. Imagine your daughter running away like that, just to see some lanterns!

"Well, how about you go and get some rest – you must be exhausted! I will set out to the citadel, and look for your daughter. I will be back as soon as I can." He smiled reassuringly at Gothel and stood to walk out of the inn.

###############################

By sheer luck, Rapunzel found herself in the bustling outskirts of the citadel. She had been wandering for the better part of a day now, and was hoping to find somewhere to rest. However, without money she didn't know what she would do. As the now-brunette walked across the bridge into the heart of the citadel, she noticed she was on the receiving end of many weird looks. Peaking over the edge of the bridge and into the stream below the teen realised why.

Her dress was dirty and badly torn, showing more skin that she was really comfortable with, and her hair was cut raggedly and lopsided. Pulling a face, she jogged to the other side of the bridge and down to the waterside. Perching there, the brunette sifted through the rocks and stones on the side of the bank until she found one sharp enough.

Having done so, and using the water as a mirror, she lifted it to her hair and started cutting at the longer side, trying to make it more even. By the time Rapunzel had finished, her hair was hanging down to just below her chin. She glanced down at her tattered dress and sighed before standing resignedly and walking into the market place.

Rapunzel spent the evening wandering through the streets of the citadel, admiring the sights and hoping desperately that she would find somewhere safe to stay. Soon the sun was barely in the sky, and she flopped dejectedly onto the side of the fountain the centre of the currently empty market place. No luck.

"Hey, are you, um, are you okay?" Rapunzel looked up to see a tall red headed man staring down at her with concern visible in his light grey eyes.


	9. Birthday

Niklas looked down at the brunette girl sat on the side of the fountain. He had just arrived in the city, and had spotted the teen looking hopeless and unhappy. He hated people being unhappy. So he had approached her. Looking at her more closely, he realised that she was older than he had first thought – 18 or 19 maybe.

The woman smiled tiredly at him. "I… If I'm honest then I could be better, but I will cope, thank you."

"What's wrong?" He questioned.

"It's nothing. I'll be okay." She was still smiling at him, and he couldn't resist the need to help the young woman.

"No, I insist – I want to help!" She eyed him momentarily, the smile disappearing, but he obviously met her approval as it was quick to return. She stuck her hand out, indicating that he take it.

"I'm Rapunzel." She said. He blinked – how odd that he meets a Rapunzel, which isn't a common name at all, the same day that he was asked to find one. She met some of Gothel's description, except her hair. Clearly it couldn't be the Rapunzel he was looking for. He took her hand it is, noting the softness, and shook it.

"Niklas."

##############################

Rapunzel sighed, warm and content in a small room above an inn in the city. Once her and Niklas had been introduced, he had pressed her to tell him her issues and eventually she had caved. The redhead had been sympathetic to her plight and offered to pay for a room for the night. At first the brunette had been suspicious – what did he want? But he seemed to be offering out of the goodness of his heart, and she was too tired, too cold and too hungry to think too much into it.

And now, here she was. Wrapped in warm blankets, in a bed of her own. She had been given some stew to eat too. It was nice. She still wasn't sure about Niklas – it seemed he was kind and without an agenda, but she'd only just met him. The last few days had opened her eyes to the world and she wasn't quite as naïve.

As she slept that night, she dreamt of her Mother and Brother, back in the tower.

################################

When she woke the next morning, Rapunzel took a moment to relax and wake slowly. She eventually remembered where she was and how she had gotten there. And finally she remembered that today was her eighteenth birthday. And she was in the city. She could see the lights.

Her happiness was soon to give way to disappointment. Arieh wasn't with her. She had no clue where he was, or if he was okay. Sighing, she got up and dressed – the landlord's wife had given her a blue cotton dress, due to the state of her own outfit - before heading down to the dining area of the inn. Just as she was ordering a bowl of porridge and berries, a form settled at the table opposite her.

"Good Morning!" She smiled at the cheerful man. He smiled back.

"Yes, good morning! Did you sleep well?"

"Very, thank you. I am incredibly grateful that you paid for my room, is there anything I could help you with?" The 18 year old ate her porridge and watched the handsome young man as he pondered her question. After a moment, an idea seemed to pop into his mind.

"Well, I am in the city to completed a request – I am, erm, a hunter you see, but of people. If they go missing, then people ask me to find them. And a poor woman, a few villages over downstream from here – it's really quite a lovely place - asked me to help find her daughter. She, er, she ran away from what her Mother can tell."

Rapunzel frowned sadly. Yes, she had run away too, but it was only for a short time, and her mother would never know! "I will help you then!"

At the declaration, the redhead's concerned frown turned into a light smile. "Thank you Rapunzel. It's always good to get help on these matters – more people means more ground covered, and less details missed. And I always enjoy a bit of company, keeps spirits high you know!" He rambled. The brunette grinned at the man before her, finding him rather endearing.

"So, who are we looking for?"

"Well, weirdly enough, she shares your name. You look nothing like her though – her Mother said she has really long blonde hair, green eyes and is about this tall -" He motioned a height similar to that of Rapunzel's, before looking at her thoughtfully, "Actually, now that I can see you better, you do share some features, I think. Except for that hair of yours – definitely not blonde!"

Rapunzel sat in shock. He had just described her. She was convinced. Her Mother must have come home early from her trip, it was the only way she could have found out. That rotten feeling in her gut – the one that had been present when she'd first left the tower – was back. "Niklas, wh- what was the name of this woman?"

"Did I not tell you? I'm sorry, it's Rapunzel – and her Mother described her-"

"I, um, I meant the Mother – what was the Mother called?" She interrupted him. Niklas didn't seem to mind though, and just carried on to answer her question.

"The Mother? Her name was Gothel. I felt so bad for her! Losing her daughter days before the girl's eighteenth!"

Rapunzel felt the air being pushed out of her. Mother was looking for her! She felt a tear falling down her face and dropped her head into her hands. The male opposite her sat looking alarmed.

"Are you okay?"

"I think the girl you're looking for is me… My Mother is called Gothel, I am eighteen today, and I used to have blonde hair, before an… accident yesterday." She looked up to see her companion gaping slightly at her, before a happy smile lit his face yet again.

"Well, at least I found you! Your Mother is very worried, you know!"

"Did she ask about my brother also?" Rapunzel asked – surely if she wanted to know where she was, Gothel would also want to know about Arieh, despite their frosty relationship. But the tall man was shaking his head as he finished off his breakfast.

"No, there was no mention of any other family."

"Oh." She frowned. Surely Mother would be worried about him too? He definitely wouldn't have gone home – Arieh disliked their Mother too much for that.

"Well, we should probably head back to the village – your Mother is waiting you know!" Niklas stood. "It was really quite lucky that we met last night, wasn't it!"

Before he could walk up the stairs to collect his belongings, Rapunzel grabbed the older man's arm. "Wait! Can we stay in the city a little longer, before we go to my Mother?" He turned to her, confused.

"But don't you want to see her?"

"Yes, but my Brother and I left together, and got separated. We were heading to the city, to see the lanterns tonight. If we wait, he might come! I don't want to leave the city without him."

They stared into each other's eyes, Rapunzel's defiant green facing off against curious grey. Then he sighed. "If you want to – but we will definitely be leaving in the morning! Your Mother has worried enough!" He tried to come across as stern, but Rapunzel couldn't see him that way. He was too nice to be stern! She loosened her grip on his wrist, wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug instead, before darting past him to grab her purse.

#################################

The two wandered from stall to stall – Rapunzel was watching the bustling people and admiring the goods on show, and Niklas was watching her.

Rapunzel seemed to innocent, and sweet. It was not difficult to find her charming. He couldn't help but smile whenever she spotted something new – like all of the bunting and banners that had gone up overnight. He also couldn't help but admire her beauty. Like her personality it was pleasant and obvious, but not too much.

The brunette turned to him and smiled, "Niklas, what are all these banners for?"

"They are to celebrate the birthdays of the Lost Heirs." She looked back at him from where she was perched on the fountain, watching children play, with questioning eyes.

"Who are the Lost Heirs? They must be very important to have such grand celebrations!" Niklas smiled at his younger companion and nodded.

"Yes, they are – they are the children of the King and Queen, but were taken by someone in the night when they were still young, and nobody's seen them since. It's very sad business, but I believe they are still alive somewhere, and will one day be found!"

Rapunzel nodded, taking in the story. Then after a moment, spotted a stall selling tunics and trotted over, grabbing the red-haired man's hand and pulling him after her, shouting over her shoulder, "I want to buy my Brother a present for when he gets here!" Whilst she was examining the different garments, Niklas took the chance to sidestep to the stall to the right, which boasted a wide array of colourful scarves. Spotting a blue scarf that matched her current clothing, he picked it out for closer inspection.

As soon as he noticed the delicately embroidered flowers – the symbol of the Lost Heirs – he handed over some coins and folded it into his bag to pass on later. He knew that Rapunzel would look amazing wearing it – he only hoped that she liked it!


	10. Dance

It was mid-afternoon, and Niklas finally found the opportunity to present his cheerful companion with her birthday present. He pulled Rapunzel out of the way of the masses of people celebrating, and over into the shade of a tree by the entrance to the city. They stood for a moment, enjoying the cool breeze.

"Hey, what's up?" The brunette teen asked him curiously, whilst watching people relaxing on the river bank. He smiled at her, before looking at the blue gift he was holding.

"I, um, I bought you a birthday present- " he thrust the bundled up scarf into her hands, "- I saw it and thought you'd like it, and that it'd suit you, you see." He took a breath and noticed Rapunzel was inspecting the scarf that she had unfolded, and had a happy smile decorating her face.

"It's lovely Niklas, thank you!" She pulled it around her shoulders like a shawl and bounced up onto her tip-toes to give him a hug, the brunette's arms wrapping around his shoulders. He blushed at the contact, but wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him. He savoured the hug before Rapunzel started to pull back. Despite only knowing her for a day, he was incredibly fond of her – Rapunzel's bubbly disposition, her green eyes and her amazing smile made it hard for him not to. The younger pulled back far enough to look into his eyes, and he watched the emotions in the green orbs.

Their eyes stayed connected for a few moments, occasionally breaking contact to flit around and examine the others facial features. A few moments more passed, and Niklas was starting to wonder if there was a hint of something in her eyes, a something that he knew was reflected in his. The green eyes quickly flicked to the left of him, towards the forest and widened. Rapunzel abruptly pulled away from Niklas, leaving him off balance. He stumbled. Then Niklas turned to see what had pulled the younger away from him.

##############################

"Arieh!" The brunet looked up from the stream in front of him at the sound of his name.

"Eugene! That was Rapunzel!" He turned to the other man, who had a large grin on his face. Eugene nudged the younger who consequently turned just in time to catch the form that had leapt at him. He wrapped his arms around her and span around, happy to be reunited on their birthday. Just as he put Rapunzel down, another man joined the group. He appeared to be just over 20, with long red hair and grey eyes. And he was tall. Arieh scowled. He didn't like tall people. They made him feel short.

"Who are you?"

Rapunzel, unfazed by Arieh's normal attitude (and thankfully not reacting to the talking thing) answered with her normal cheer. "He's Niklas – he helped me find a room for the night, and has looked after me today!"

Arieh's scowl deepened. That sounded dodgy, and his sister had always been naïve… He stepped towards the stranger. "Look. If you have even touched my sister..."

The redhead blinked with surprise, before stuttering into a defensive speech, having realised what Rapunzel had implied. "No, no, no – I wouldn't do that. I haven't touched her! Well, other than a hug or two… But I would never, I promise! Not that she's not pretty or anything, because she's beautiful!" The man flushed, as did Rapunzel, and just as Arieh was going to press further a hand rested on his shoulder gently.

"Hey, c'mon hot head! It's your eighteenth birthday. Enjoy it." Eugene smiled at him, his thumb rubbing up and down his shoulder. He rolled his eyes at the other man, but nodded. He then looked properly at his twin. She looked healthy and happy. But her hair was considerably shorter. And was brown. Right. It seemed that the silence had allowed Eugene to notice this also.

"So, Blondie, where's the blonde gone?"

#############################

The two siblings spent the day together, dragging round the older men from stall to stall. Eugene had to admit it was cute seeing them together, and now that Rapunzel had brown hair they looked even more alike!

He watched as Blondie (so what if she wasn't blonde, it was still her name!) dragged her protesting brother into the centre of the market place to dance with a smile. The male twin was looking offended at the idea of dancing, but the dark-haired man already knew he'd do it for his twin anyway. Along with Arieh, the green-eyed girl had managed to grab Niklas – a rather nice bloke, to be fair to the guy – and pull him in as well. Not that he argued. He was clearly smitten with the eighteen-year-old already. Well, as smitten as you could be after a day of knowing each other!

A smug grin grew out of the smile on Eugene's face. He had used his crafty thief skills to avoid the demanding girl, and could now watch the brunet male attempt (rather badly) to dance. That grin was still there when Arieh had spotted him and ran over.

"Hide me!"

"And why should I do that?" Eugene raised his eyebrow at the smaller man.

"If you don't I'll hit you! Very hard! In the nose! It'll bleed and look ugly!"

At that, the older man let out a bark-like laugh. "Firstly you wouldn't hit me and secondly I could never be ugly."

"The only reason I haven't hit you yet is that your inevitable complaining about the bruise would be more annoying than you are at the moment. You're inching closer to that not being the case." The other male teased. Then he turned and grabbed Eugene's hand.

"Um, where are we going?" The darker-haired man asked. They were heading towards the dancing, and that was not good. Not good at all.

"Hey, Rapunzel!" Arieh shouted. The brunette girl soon appeared out of the crowd of dancers.

"Arieh! You should come and dance!" She grinned at her brother.

"Actually, I'm quite tired, what with everything that's happened today. But Eugene was just saying that he really wanted to dance too, and said he'd take my place so I could rest!" Rapunzel clapped her hands excitedly before pulling their older guide off into the crowd of dancers. As he passed Arieh, he glared at the eighteen-year-old.

"Traitor." Arieh just smiled innocently.

"You should have hidden me then." He then walked off to sit with the watching townsfolk with a cheerful wave.

##################################

Later that evening, the four of them sat on the edge of the pier, their legs swinging over the edge as they ate some bread and cheese. Rapunzel was talking to Niklas about her dreams of seeing the lanterns, as she now knew they were. Eugene was sat next to Arieh, the silence between them comfortable. The group stayed like that for an hour or so before the red-haired man lead Rapunzel to a space a few meters away to watch some fox cubs play across the water. After some time, the brunet rested his head on the other man's shoulders and sighed.

"I don't want to go back to that tower."

"What about your Mother, and Rapunzel?" Eugene questioned.

"I don't care about Mother. She never wanted nor needed me. I was an inconvenience and she made sure that I knew it. As for Rapunzel, I… I wouldn't want to leave her, but I know she misses our Mother. But either way I have nowhere to go other than back to that place."

Eugene sat in silence for a moment before replying, "You could come with me?" Arieh looked up at him quickly. 

"With you? Where?"

"Travelling! I want to go to as many new places as possible before I choose my favourite and settle there."

"…And you'd want me there?" The younger pulled away from the other completely, lifting his legs so he was sat facing Eugene with his legs crossed in front of him. The dark-haired man mirrored his movements so their knees were touching.

"Of course. It wouldn't be half as fun without you. This trip, despite everything that went wrong, has definitely had the most enjoyable company." The older man started playing with Arieh's fingers, moving them about in his hand. The man looked to his twin and sat for a moment, thinking. She turned, saw his gaze and smiled before looking back at the animals. He then fixed his eyes back on Eugene, and grasped the man's fingers properly.

"I… I want that." Eugene's companion stated. The words resulted in a wide and relieved smile forming on the older man's face, which was quickly returned. The smile took Eugene's breath away, which he found really annoying, as it meant he couldn't express what he was feeling properly. Therefore, his only option was to push off the ground and press forward, planting his chapped lips onto the soft ones of the man before him.


	11. Lights

When Eugene had asked Arieh to travel with him, he hadn't expected the other to agree. He'd definitely hoped for it, but they'd only known each other for a short while. And Arieh had family, ties to this place. So when the man who had somehow wormed his way into the older man's heart had agreed, and then kissed him – well, Eugene couldn't stop himself from pressing back against the soft lips and grasping the hand in his tighter.

The kiss lasted mere seconds, but the two were still short of breath when they pulled apart. Eugene attributed it to the shock. They had actually kissed. A smile grew on his face, which was reflected by the brunet sat next to him.

During their talking, the sky had started to darken, and soon the only light was from the buildings in the city and that of the stars above them. The four sat amicably in silence, Arieh cuddled up to his older companion with a silly grin on his face, not noticing the fond look the other was directing at him. Rapunzel and Niklas were still sat a few feet away, lying back on the grassy bank stargazing. The brunette girl was pointing up at the constellations that she had studied for years from her tower, showing the grey-eyed man next to her.

Due to his preoccupation with the man he found himself to falling for, he didn't notice the brightening of the sky until said man stiffened against him and jumped up. Before he could properly register the change and respond accordingly, his hand was in the other's grasp and he was being pulled along the bank to the bridge downstream of them.

"Eugene! Look, the lights!" Eugene continued to watch the gorgeous man in front of him, unable to tear his eyes away from his companion's face. There was a beautiful glow in Arieh's eyes, and a smile lit up his features. "They're so beautiful! Thank you!"

Eugene just wrapped his arms tightly around the younger man's waist and pressed a kiss against his forehead. The two stood there in silence, watching the lanterns float until they were no longer visible and the sky was dark again. Pulling away, Eugene pulled his tired companion over to the other pair.

"We're going to get some sleep – we'll see you two here tomorrow?" One of the frustrating sides of being a fugitive is that you can't really stay in a city inn overnight without expecting to get caught.

"Where are you going? The city is that way." Niklas voiced, confused as to why the pair were heading back towards the forest. Eugene looked at the ground sheepishly, before replying.

"Well, er, let's just say that the authorities and I aren't brilliant friends." The redhead raised an eyebrow.

"Well, as long as you're not the thief who stole the crowns of the Missi-" Niklas attempted to joke but stopped mid-sentence as the self-admitted criminal's sheepish look grew more so, and he refused to meet the other's eyes. "It was you! I should turn you in! They are valuable property, and think about how much the King and Queen cherished them! It's despicable that you'd steal them! Gu-" As he spoke, the tall man's voice became louder and louder until his mouth was suddenly covered by two small hands.

"Niklas, stop!" Rapunzel jumped towards him anxiously. "He's our friend! I'm sure he can just… return them, can't you Eugene." She turned to the 23-year-old, who nodded vigorously along with the woman's suggestion.

"Yeah, sure, I can do that – we just need to retrieve them from your tower!" He exclaimed. Stood next to him, he saw Arieh's eyes widen.

"They were the jewellery in the satchel that we found on you!" He tugged on Eugene's arm. "We need to go get them, give them back to the King and Queen! I can't believe you stole crowns that belong to missing children!"

"Ri, we can't go now!" The young man's twin spoke up. "It's too dark. We'll just have to go in the morning."

Eugene sighed. "We'll set off tomorrow, and when we're back I'll return the crowns and then it'll be all sorted. Okay?" He directed the last part towards the irritable redhead, who glared before stomping off towards the city. "I'm sorry Arieh. But it was before I met you and I needed money and…" He sighed again.

The brunet man just wrapped his arms around the other quickly in a reassuring hug. "Well you're trying to do the right thing now, and that's what I care about. Just don't get yourself arrested – you're my travelling buddy." He pulled away, giving the other man a soft smile and dragged Eugene away into the forest to find a suitable clearing. The pair fell asleep quickly, curled against each other contentedly.

#########################

Rapunzel followed after the red-haired man, knowing that Arieh would stay with Eugene. She ran until she was able to stop in front of the other, halting his progress towards the inn. Niklas still had a scowl marring his face, and he looked down at her.

"What?" What once would have caused Rapunzel to back off submissively now brought a frustrated reaction.

"Don't talk to me like that – I was just trying to resolve the situation!"

"Resolving the situation would be letting the palace guards arrest him! He's a criminal!" The tall man exclaimed. Rapunzel sighed.

"Yes, he's a criminal. One who decided to help my twin brother, a person he barely knew, find me when I was kidnapped by bandits! A man who cares about my brother! I think the good he's done for my brother and I outweighs the bad he's done!"

"Rapunzel, he stole the crowns of the Missing Heirs!" The man tried to explain. "Think about how the King and Queen felt when they realised that their missing children's crowns were gone!"

Rapunzel just waved her arms in frustration. She understood why Niklas was upset, but she didn't want to harm her brother's crush. Flynn – or Eugene, which was apparently his real name – cared a large amount for her brother. And Arieh was speaking! Actually speaking! Who knows how Arieh would react to the man being arrested. This was the first time she'd seen him this happy, and she was determined not to ruin it over Eugene's shady past.

"Well, if you turn him in, you will have to do the same to my brother and I – we hid the crowns, we assisted Eugene. They're in our tower right now!" She stood looking defiantly at him. Niklas just gaped down at the fiery brunette girl, not knowing what to say. Then his shoulders sagged.

"Fine. But I'm only doing this as I don't want you or your brother being arrested. Not as a favour to him." He then started off towards the inn again. However, before he could leave, Rapunzel grabbed his hand in hers.

"Thank you." She said. His glare softened, and he sent her a small smile, before continuing towards the building. Rapunzel let him lead, following a few steps behind.

###################################

The next morning, the four met up again at the edge of the forest, as agreed the night before. Throughout the night, Niklas had debated as to whether he would go with the others, and finally decided that it was the best thing for him to do. It allowed him to get to know the beautiful brunette further, and restore justice somewhat.

Walking deeper into the forest, the group started their trek to the twin's home. The tower. Niklas thought that sounded rather like a prison, not a home. But surely it wasn't, their Mother had seemed like such a lovely woman. And then there was Arieh. Gothel had given no indication of there being other family missing, but Rapunzel seemed to be under the impression that their Mother should be worried about him too. It was all very weird.

He supposed that the only way to get all the answers he wanted was to follow them to their home. He had been informed that the trek would take a few days. Niklas had also suggested that they inform Gothel about their presence, but had only received a harsh look from Rapunzel's twin. In the redhead's opinion, it seemed pointless not to tell her when they were going home anyway, but the brunet would not be swayed, so they carried on without their Mother.

##############################

Gothel watched from the shadows of the trees, glad that she had chosen to follow the tall hunter. She scowled at Rapunzel – her hair was gone! She was useless now! Still, that useless oaf of a hunter had done something right so far, and that was leading her to Arieh.

It seemed that now Rapunzel had lost her powers, Gothel would have to rely upon the stubborn boy. And she had to get him back. If it were Rapunzel, it would have been easy – she had been training the girl from the day she stole them. The teen was completely dependent upon her. Even if she wanted to pretend she was all grown-up, the dark-haired woman knew she'd come running as soon as Gothel asked her to.

The boy, however, was different. She'd never really liked him, never known how to deal with him. So she's just pushed him to the side. And now he was bitter. He would do anything to spite her, and Gothel knew it. Luckily, the hunter had managed to unknowingly assist her a second time by shouting out about their fourth companion's crimes.

Gothel certainly wasn't blind. She could see the attraction between the man and Arieh. He would be how she would get her precious youth back. The quickly aging woman watched the party pass her as a plan started to form in her mind.


	12. Song

Gothel paused out of sight, waiting for the perfect moment to burst out of the trees. She had already planned the whole performance. Tears streaming, heavy breathing, distraught eyes. Her poor son. Her poor, sweet boy. It didn't take too long for her chance to appear – the guard had just been rotated for the new shift, and a fresh-faced young soldier was stood on the river bank, looking ready to protect the next damsel in distress that came running. His next quest was to find her Arieh. Then she could regain her youth.

She grabbed the hem of her dress and ripped, pulling and tugging at the material until it looked as if she had been in a fight. She then pulled the dagger resting at her hip out of its holster, using it to create more tears. If she caught herself a few times before she dropped the weapon to the floor, she didn't care. Made the look more realistic. The aging woman looked down at herself. She looked quite the victim. Show time.

Gothel hobbled out from her hiding place, tears running thickly down her face. Her leg then gave, and she fell with a cry. The young guard immediately ran over to the woman, helping her to stand and assisting her to a nearby bench.

"Ma'am? What's wrong – I am a Royal Guard, I can help!"

The dark-haired woman applauded her performance internally. The trap had worked perfectly. Now to move on to the second stage.

"M-my Son!" She wept, sobs causing her body to shake, "He wa-was taken! Bandits ambushed us, took all o-of our money! And then they took him!" Gothel made sure to increase the pitch of her voice as she spoke, giving the pretence of hysteria. She performed it perfectly.

"Don't worry Ma'am, you came to the right person! We can find him for you! Would you be comfortable with talking with one of my superiors? They will be able to find your son and apprehend the disgusting culprits who did this!" The young man's chest puffed out with pride at his ability to help a troubled citizen. Gothel could tell he was a new recruit already.

She nodded at the man between sobs, and he showed her to the headquarters of the Royal Army. It wasn't an hour before she was sat in front of the head of the Royal Guard, General William Turnage.

"What can I help you with?" He stared her down with dark eyes, and she opened her mouth to stutter out her answer.

"M-my s-s-son!" Cue the tears once again. "H-he was taken! Bandits a-am-ambushed us in the woods when we w-were heading to the city!" The General frowned at Gothel, his stern look turning sympathetic. Perfect.

"Well, Ma'am, we will do our best to find these criminals and get your son back to you safely. All we need is a description of your son, the perpetrators and where this happened. Whilst we carry out this, you may stay in the city for a few days. There is a chance that we will not find them within that time. You will have to go home, but do not worry, we will continue to search."

"Thank you! Thank you General!" Gothel cried, playing the role of sweet and worried Mother. "M-my son is quite short for his age, and has brown hair and blue eyes. He doesn't speak often, and he's quite shy! Please find him, I couldn't live without him!" A frustrating fact that was more literal than the General realised.

"And what of the people that did this?"

"We were about a day's walk away, towards the sea. There w-were t-three of them. There was a girl, no older than 18, I'd say. She conned us into thinking she was lost. We didn't want to leave the poor girl there, it wouldn't have been nice! She was brunette, short hair, with a blue dress and green eyes. Little did we know she was a distraction. She had two men with her, who jumped us when we were trying to help! One of them was tall with red hair. Lanky. He took my money, and tried to s-st-stab me! My sweet Arieh tried to stop him, he really did, but the third man grabbed him and k-knocked him out. C-carried him off. All I can remember was his dark hair…" She trailed off into sobs. The General stood from his desk and sat next to her, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you for the details, we will try our best to find them. Is there anything else you can recall? Anything they said?"

Gothel paused, trying to suppress a smirk at the success of her act. "O-one of them was called 'Finn' or 'Flynn'. It was unclear. I'm sorry I can't tell you more."

At the mention of the name, the General's face turned stony. "Of Course. Orson!" A new soldier entered the office. "Take our Guest to a suite." The General then turned and stalked out of the room, heading towards the stable. Gothel couldn't wait to see the rest of the plan play out. It was perfect. Soon she would be beautiful once again.

#############################

William had his men searching for days for the three criminals and their hostage. It was on the fifth day that they struck gold. A patrol had stumbled across four travellers, all fitting the description given to them by the Mother. According to the guard who had reported this to him, they hadn't even been trying to hide their approach to the city. Or the satchel with the missing heir's crowns. More confusingly, the Hostage had been described as travelling willingly with the others. But that happened at times. He could have been threatened for all William knew.

Currently he was going to meet the patrol party on their way towards the city. He wanted to see these criminals for himself. And with Flynn Rider's track record, they needed all the soldiers they could spare. It took him the better part of two hours to reach the group, but the time spent riding was made worth it by the sight of Rider in chains. Behind Rider was a tall red-head and short brunette, just as described.

What didn't fit the description was the newly freed hostage. Unlike the quiet teen that the Mother had described, there stood a furious looking young man, shouting outraged comments at William's men.

"Let them go! Let me go! That's my sister you're man-handling you moron!" He was thrashing about on the horse, the soldier sat behind him struggling to keep control.

"Excuse me, young man!" William spoke up, infusing authority into his tone. The man on the horse stopped shouting to glare at him.

"What?"

"What right do you think you have to cause my men such trouble? We are trying to assist you." William spoke sternly.

"Assisting? Well they're doing a terrible job!" He slipped off the horse, much to the frustration of the soldier behind him. William waved the man off. "They locked up my travelling companion," He gestured to Flynn (who was trying to hide his face from the General), "And my sister!"

"According to your Mother, you were kidnapped by these criminals. Are you saying this is untrue?" William raised his eyebrows imperiously.

"Yes! As if they could ever kidnap me!" Flynn snorted quietly, earning a slap on the shoulder from the brunet man. "My Mother is a horrid liar. She never liked me. Always preferred Rapunzel." The brunet moved towards said sister, and the pair looked up at William.

But the General had no response. Because they looked (with the exception of the girl's hair) exactly how he had imagined the lost heirs would have, had they still been with the King and Queen. The same eyes, noses, mouths. He didn't know what to do. How could it be them? They have a Mother (who for some reason is only looking for one…). Plus the girl – Rapunzel – her hair was the wrong colour. But that's not too unusual. Things change, right?

The only thing William could think to try was to sing. It was a regular occurrence with his men to sing for entertainment, so he didn't feel out of place doing so. The only thing that was different about this song was that he had made it up, and performed it on a regular basis for the Royal Twins. They were the only ones to know it. If this pair knew it, then William would have confirmation of their identity. If they didn't the group could carry on back to the city jail as planned.

"Two young soldiers marched,

Feet pounding on the ground,

One's hair dark, the other fair,

Decked proudly in red and gold,

They're on their way to save the kingdom,

From their terrible foes,

Who threatened the land,

And all its people,

With their rotten goals-"

"The battle was long and hard,

But red and gold prevailed

And two young soldiers marched back home,

With peace again restored."

Two voices joined the General's own, deep and aged mixing with youthful softness. It was them! He had finally found the twins! He turned to them, staring in awe. Around them, the soldiers were shifting in their places, sensing that they'd missed something big.

"How do you know that song?" William demanded. He needed to be sure.

Rapunzel spoke up for the first time in response, "We used to sing it to each other all the time when we were little. We've always just known it."

"Well, the only people who could possibly know that song other than myself, are the King, Queen and their missing heirs." Silence fell over the party as the announcement sunk in. They needed to go to the castle. Now.

**Hope you guys all enjoyed the chapter!**


	13. Free

As the party crossed the threshold of the palace, Arieh couldn't help but marvel. In a matter of minutes, he and his sister had gone from just a pair of twins to a being The Missing Heirs to the throne. The brunet just couldn't see it being possible. They had a Mother already, albeit a terrible one. And where was the proof. The pair had joined in with one song, and suddenly the head of the guard was convinced.

Arieh shook himself out of his thoughts, instead turning to observe how his sister was coping. She was still looking a little shocked, but it seemed that the grandeur of their supposed parents' home was a suitable distraction. The ceilings were tall and impressive stone columns, the walls draped with tapestries and the cold floors lined with rugs. Servants bustled about, popping out of doors only to disappear moments later.

Once again, his attention was dragged to a new stimulus, as they entered the throne room. At the far end of the room, there were doors leading out onto a beautiful balcony. To the group's left, two ornate thrones sat. But they were not what grabbed the young man's attention. Rather, it was the two people sat in them.

The left throne held a tall man, with greying brown hair and kind blue eyes. In the right sat a gracefully aging woman, also with brown locks but with glowing green eyes. The brunet male flicked his eyes from his twin to the pair who were now turning their attention to the newcomers. He couldn't help but notice the blue in the King's eyes were matched by Rapunzel's. And the Queen looked remarkably like his sister.

It was at that point that he realised. They were the lost heirs. Looking into the eyes of the Queen, they mirrored each other in shock, delight and colour. There was no way anyone in the room could deny the relation. He stepped forward, Rapunzel following his lead at the ruling couple stood and walked towards them. The Queen's – his Mother – hand shook as she reached towards the two siblings. Her hand only became steady when Arieh leaned out and grabbed it. He was immediately pulled into a hug by the woman before him, a hug that was quickly joined by Rapunzel and the King.

#########################

Eugene watched as the four broke into tears. To be honest, he was struggling not to cry at the scene himself. Not that he would admit that. Nope. Never.

After a few long minutes, the group pulled apart and the twins stepped back, towards the familiar comfort of their travelling companions. Eugene took the opportunity to discretely grasp Arieh's hand, offering silent support for the younger. The eighteen-year-old turned to him with a soft and grateful smile, eyes still shining with tears.

Arieh then turned to his newly found parents again, and held his free hand towards them. "Hello. I, um, don't know what name you know me by, but I am Arieh. And this is my sister Rapunzel." Said woman waved towards the older two cheerfully.

The King stepped forward to take the proffered hand, holding it in both of his. His eyes meeting Arieh's and then Rapunzel's, he replied with a bittersweet tone, "It's lovely to have you here again… Arieh and Rapunzel." He paused. "We have arranged for rooms for all of you. My wife and I wish for you all to stay as long as you want."

The group all nodded, and were informed as to when dinner would be served. They were then shown to their rooms and allowed to settle – apparently the King and Queen wanted to go slowly with their newly re-found children. That was fair enough. Eugene strolled into his room, noting that Arieh's was to his left, Rapunzel's opposite, and Niklas' to his right. The room was huge, draped with fine silks and golden ornaments. It was way too much for Eugene's tastes. He may like to steal pretty things, but that was to sell, not to sit on a mantel piece in his way-too-big home and gather dust.

He flopped lazily onto the bed, feeling the fluffed pillows give under his back, and the soft mattress swelling to accommodate his form comfortably. Yup. This was too nice.

He wondered how Arieh was coping with his room – this would be the first time that he'd have a room to himself. Eugene had (briefly) seen the tower, and noticed that the twins shared, meaning they'd probably done so their whole lives. From experience, he knew it can be a weird feeling having a room to oneself after so long. The dark-haired man's attention was quickly drawn to another matter, however. What of his offer to travel with the lovely brunet man? Surely, he wouldn't want to leave his newly discovered family so soon, especially for a wanted criminal like him.

And, whilst he was thinking that – why hasn't he been arrested yet? Not that he isn't so glad he feels like dancing in front of the guards on prison duty. It's just, they've been after him for _years_. Since he turned 18 really. And now he was just lying on a palace bed, in a palace room, a guest of the King and Queen! A large part of him was pushing for answers, ignoring that other part telling him to leave the questioning (and the castle) and go and have an adventure instead. But he wouldn't do that to Arieh. Yes, it'd only been a few days, and no he wasn't going to profess his love for the younger male and vow to stay by his side for life. But he _did_ want to know what would happen! He always grabbed every opportunity life presented him, and he didn't want to be thinking 'what if' later in life. Plus, if they don't arrest him, living at the palace, if only for a short while _could_ be fun. The chaos he could cause; the parties he could attend! And, you never know what will happen between him and the newly-discovered Prince.

The thief doubted that the Rulers would let their children go now though. Not after just finding them nearly 18 years after they were stolen. Eugene paused. What about their 'Mother'? Several people knew what she looked like now including the Head of the Royal Guard. Maybe that's why he's not been arrested – they're all preoccupied with the capture of the old crone who stole the twins.

#########################

The six of them – Rapunzel, Arieh, Eugene, Niklas, the King and the Queen – were eating their roasted guinea fowl with seasonal vegetables when a servant entered the room quietly, passing a note to the King with a small apology for the interruption. The King opened the paper, a frown forming on his face.

"What is it my dear?" The Queen asked.

"They've found the woman that took Te- I mean, Rapunzel and Arieh."

"Gothel?" Said brunette asked. "What are they going to do to her?" She worried her lip between her teeth. Arieh couldn't care less what they did to her if he was honest, but he knew that it was different for his sister. She had, after all, genuinely believed that Gothel was their Mother for nearly their whole lives. And despite learning of her wrongdoings, the Prince did appreciate that you can't just turn off feelings.

"Well, my dear, she will be executed for her crimes against the crown, and against you." The King answered gently, seeming to be following the same line of thought as his son. Rapunzel looked at her lap, and let out a little breath. From where he sat he reached across the table to grab the hand resting there. He squeezed his sister's hand reassuringly.

"We've always survived without her. You're strong and you've proved that. You don't need her." She looked up and nodded at him solemnly. Suddenly she lifted her head and looked towards their parents.

"What were our names? Before we were taken."

They startled, before the Queen answered. "Well, you were named Tesni and your brother was named Idris."

Idris. It was a nice name, he supposed. But he's always be Arieh. It's all he's really known. Similarly, Rapunzel suited the name Tesni but it would never be truly hers. It was then Eugene's turn to ask a question.

"Your Highness?" The King nodded for him to continue. "Whilst I am incredibly grateful for your hospitality I am curious as to why I haven't been arrested?"

"Well, whilst you were a wanted criminal, you brought our children back. My wife and I have always said that if our children ever returned, the person or persons who assisted their return would be rewarded with the fulfilling of one wish. You protected Arieh and Rapunzel and freed them from their prison. Whilst this is forward of me, I naturally assumed that you would request to be acquitted of all crimes." The man then turned to Niklas and asked what he could do for him in reward. Arieh did not listen to the conversation further though.

Instead he grinned happily towards the man who was growing more and more important to him as each day passed. He was a free man. They could travel around the realms, seeing all that could be seen. Arieh couldn't help but be excited – he'd been locked in a tower for most of his life. He was now free to do as he wished!

**Hey! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and happy summer solstice :)**


	14. Responsibilities

"Why can't I?" Arieh thundered. The last two weeks at the palace had been calm and peaceful, the twins getting to know their estranged parents. That peace was now broken, however. Namely by Arieh's discovery that he was not allowed to go travelling with Eugene.

"Because you're the Prince! One day, you will rule this Kingdom, so you need to be here. Learning and training and being there for your people. Not gallivanting off with a petty criminal!"

That was Arieh and Rapunzel's new tutor, Sandor. He was a man in his late thirties with thin blonde hair and a sour expression permanently plastered to his face. He and Arieh were certainly not good friends. Arieh waved his fists with exasperation at the man's words.

"That makes no sense! Yes, I am prince but why should I rule? I am the youngest child. I don't want to rule. Rapunzel is both older and interested in being involved with the governing of this land! Why should I rule when my sister is obviously the better candidate?" He paused, letting the one before him digest the argument before adding, "Also, you are my tutor – I want to travel to learn, to experience. You should encourage that!"

Sandor sputtered, not knowing how to respond. "A girl cannot be Queen when she has a brother, regardless of age! It's a ridiculous notion! And as a future King, you will not be allowed to live in _inns_ and _hostels_. They are beneath you!"

"Beneath me? I am human, as is everyone else. As long as there is food and a bed, it will suit me. You are just a stuck up snob who cares so much about how others perceive you, that you actually come across as more than a bit of a twat." With that, Arieh stepped forward and grabbed Sandor's favourite quill – the one he waved in the brunet's face whenever he felt the other had done wrong – and snapped it in two. "And that was for speaking of Eugene that way." With that, the young Prince walked out.

######################

Eugene was strolling through the palace, as he usually did whilst Arieh was in his lessons, when he halted. He had just been passing the younger man's schooling rooms when he heard shouting. Glancing around, he moved closer to the door to allow the sound to become clearer. After a moment, he realised it was Arieh.

He listened to the whole conversation, guilt growing inside of him when he realised the damage he was causing to the young Royal and his family. He heard footsteps quickly approaching the door, and he stumbled away and around a corner. The footsteps soon left, and he headed off on his prior course. He barely made it a few feet before he heard more shouting.

"Oi! You!" He glanced around, realising that it was the tutor shouting, and it was directed at him.

"Yes?" He bounced up to the other, forcing a jolly and playful grin onto his face, which became genuine once it achieved the desired effect of annoying the sour man.

"I really don't like you! You should be rotting in jail, not parading around this palace, polluting the Prince's mind. You are no good for him! He should stay here with his family and be responsible, instead of harping on about silly fantasies of travelling and shirking his responsibilities." Sandor ranted, face turning red.

"Look, Sandy, I don't massively care what you think. He's his own man, and should be free to do what he wants."

The other scoffed at Eugene, rolling his eyes. "He's a Prince! You don't seem to understand that by giving him these fantasies you are tearing apart his family and not allowing him to do right by his people!" It was the younger man's turn to scoff, but he didn't bother replying. Instead he just turned and headed in the opposite direction towards the exit to the gardens.

He needed to think. He needed air. What if the grumpy git was right? What if he was causing more damage than he was good? He'd never exactly been a positive person to be involved with. First an orphan causing mischief. Then a criminal running from the crown. Now an acquitted criminal messing up Arieh's chances of having a proper family.

The dark-haired man flopped onto the grass under one of the oak trees, cradling his head in his hands. He wanted to be with Arieh, whether that was travelling or working in the palace, or whatever else allowed him to stay in the citadel. But since he had mentioned the idea, the younger man was determined that they go travelling.

Hours later, when the sky was starting to darken, Eugene Fitzherbert promised himself that he would do whatever he could to keep Arieh happy and safe.

############################

Arieh paced in his room trying to decide how he would approach the topic with the King and Queen. His parents. He doubted he would ever get used to calling them that. He had decided that he would pitch his case to the King – his Sister become Queen and he be allowed to travel. Since his explosive lesson with Sandor a week-and-a-half ago, he had refused to return, instead hiding away in the library, planning his argument.

Rapunzel was friendly and cheerful, but her recent experiences had hardened her. She would make a perfect Ruler, simply because she always had an answer. The woman could hold the attention of a room, simply by saying 'Hello'. The people of the Kingdom would adore her, and head her every word. Arieh, however, felt he was too bitter and jaded. Plus, he didn't want to be King. Whilst he was by no means a disliked character, he knew he would not be favoured by Corona as Rapunzel would be.

He left his chambers with a purposeful gait, only to hear "Arieh!" called out from behind him.

"Hi!" He grinned whilst leaning in for a hug. "I was just going to speak to the K- my parents." He pointed in the direction of their chambers. Eugene paused, before replying with a weird tone.

"Actually, before you do, could I just have a word? I have some news I want to share." Arieh then got pulled by the older male into his room again, before being pushed into one of the over-stuffed chairs by the fireplace.

"What are you doing?" The brunet chuckled.

"I've got some news, like I said." Eugene said, sitting in the chair opposite his. When he didn't continue, Arieh rolled his eyes.

"Well? What is it?"

"You see, I've been looking around recently for jobs, and actually think I'll be able to be one of the Royal Guard. Just a foot soldier and guard for now, but I want to work my way up." The other stopped, allowing Arieh to acknowledge exactly what he was saying.

"What?" He said upon registering the words, confused. "A job? Why would you get a job here when we'll be off travelling the world soon?"

"Well, I was thinking that it would be unfair for me to pull you from your family, and your duties-"

"Someone's said something to you, haven't they? Look, you invited me to travel with you, and I said yes. You can't just go assuming that my answer has changed just because my circumstances have!" He frowned, trying to find some form of an explanation in the other man's eyes.

"Nobody's said anything Arieh! I just feel it would be best if you stayed here, as your meant to." The older man said, staring at his feet. At his words, Arieh felt the same anger building that he'd felt towards Sandor. How dare Eugene tell him what he should and shouldn't do! It was his life!

"Don't you think I should decide what's best for me? I'm an adult, and I pretty much brought myself up! I'm definitely more responsible than you ever were!" The brunet lashed out, regretting his words when he saw the flash of hurt and anger in his crush's eyes.

His regret was wiped out, however, when Eugene replied: "Oh, because you had such a great role model in that psychotic kidnapper! I'm sure she'd be proud of the man you've become – shirking responsibilities, leaving your family, keeping criminals for company!"

"You have no right, Eugene Fitzherbert! I should not have said what I said, but that was too far. I am nothing like that witch and you know it!" He then stood from his seat and stormed out of the room, thundering towards his parents' rooms. His anger fuelled his want, his _need_ to sort this mess out. He was seeing the world whether Eugene came with him or not.


	15. Together

Stopping at the door to his Father's study, Arieh violently knocked on the door, his anger towards Eugene still bubbling within him. Upon hearing the invitation to enter, he yanked the door open, slamming it behind him as he walked further into the study.

"Arieh?" The King questioned, alarmed at the other's behaviour, "What has happened? Are you alright?" At the questions, Arieh realised that his behaviour, whilst in his opinion was justified, was not appropriate and lessened his chances of his Father agreeing to his requests.

Taking a breath, and letting the action calm him he answered the older man. "I'm alright Father, I was just in an argument, I apologise."

"You are forgiven," The King said, rising from his desk, "However, do not act like that again. It will not win you any favours." Arieh nodded.

"I will try my best."

"So, now that's cleared up, what can I do for you, son?" The King asked.

Another breath, and then the young man answered, "I was actually here to talk to you about travelling. I really want to – and not just for a few months, but for as long as I am able! But I am your successor. Which, I think is absurd when Rapunzel is both older and more suited to the role."

Okay. He'd said it. Now all Arieh had to do was hope for a positive response.

"Was this, by chance, the topic of your argument?" The King questioned knowingly. Arieh flushed, but refused to back down, staring his Father in the eyes defiantly.

"Yes."

The other nodded and paused to think of the situation presented before providing his verdict. "If I had my way, you would be King, as is expected of you. However, despite only knowing you briefly, I am under the impression that if I were to tell you that you would go anyway. I would rather not lose my only son and have you lose your parents and sister. Therefore, I _will_ let you go. However, there are conditions." Arieh grinned at his Father and suppressed the need to jump and release a shout of excitement.

"Yes, anything!" He jumbled out, trusting the man not to impose anything too drastic.

"Firstly, you are still the Prince of this Kingdom, and so you will act as such. You will present yourself as a diplomat in other countries, forming alliances and trade routes with other lands. I will provide you a list of goods we can supply and make deals with, as well as goods we wish to trade for. Once you have suggested a deal, you will send a copy to us with your location, so we can begin negotiations."

Arieh nodded and sighed. Whilst it was not what he had hoped to be doing with his time, he could cope with the condition. It would still allow him to travel and experience the culture. He just had to fulfil this one duty.

"Good." The King said. "Secondly, you must have an escort from the Royal Guard present with you when you travel. As a Prince there will be those out to hurt you -" Arieh went to object. "- And whilst I do not doubt your ability to look after yourself, it would make me, your Mother and your Sister more comfortable. And extra protection never hurts." He said, raising his eyebrow at the young man before him.

The brunet paused before replying, an idea forming as he mulled the condition over. "Do I get to choose the Guard accompanying me?"

"Of course." The King replied.

"Okay then. What are your other conditions?"

"There's just one more – that you come back here when you can – we may not know each other well, Arieh, but I know I would hate to lose you again as would your Mother. And I am well aware of how close your relationship with your sister is."

Arieh agreed to all three before excusing himself.

#################################

The first person to tell was Rapunzel. She was already aware of her younger brother's wish to travel, and that she would become Queen in his stead. So when Arieh told his sister that he had been allowed to travel, she had grabbed him in a hug, before the younger twin was tugged into jumping around the room, ecstatic laughter bursting from both of them until they flopped onto their bed, exhausted and catching their breath.

After the pair had recovered, Rapunzel rolled over until she was facing Arieh. Catching the brunets' eye, she gave him a meaningful look.

"I hope that you look after yourself when you're out there."

"Don't worry! I will! And Father's making me take a Royal Guard with me anyway." He smiled reassuringly at the brunette woman next to him.

"Oh? How does Eugene feel about that? I can't imagine he will be a fan of being followed by a Royal Guard!" The female exclaimed.

Arieh just smirked, before explaining his idea to Rapunzel.

################################

Arieh knocked on Eugene's door, and waited for the other to answer the door.

After a minute, the door swung open slowly, and Eugene poked his head around to identify the visitor. Upon seeing Arieh, his face fell into a frown.

"Yes?"

"Can I come in? I need to talk to you." The brunet asked the older male, pleading with his eyes. The dark-haired man huffed out a sigh and turned, swinging the door further open behind him as he walked to the sofa in the corner of his suite. Sitting down, he settled a hard stare on the Prince in front of him.

Arieh stepped closer to the man. "I'm so sorry about what I said earlier, firstly. It was out of line and I didn't mean it. I can't promise that something like that will happen again, but I can promise that I will never intentionally hurt you." He stopped, waiting for his crush to respond.

Another sigh left the other before his gaze softened. "I accept your apology, and I want to say sorry too. We both said things to get back at each other when we were angry." He smiled, and patted the spot next to him. Once Arieh had sat down, the older pulled him against him, until the brunet was sat between the other's legs and Arieh's back to Eugene's front. The Prince let his head drop to the older man's shoulder as he relaxed.

"There's something else." Arieh spoke quietly, not willing to break the serene atmosphere that had fallen over the two.

"Hmm?"

"I spoke to my Father. He's letting me travel, but only if I act as a negotiator to form alliances, and I visit every now and then. Also, he said I have to bring a Royal Guard with me." The arms hugging his shoulders tightened as Eugene let out a cry of happiness.

"Yes! That's amazing Arieh! When can we leave? And which Guard is coming with us?" The man babbled excitedly.

"Actually," Arieh replied, "I was thinking that you could be the Guard. I mean, you were offered a post, and are fully capable of ensuring my safety. My Father would approve it as long as you pass the exams and tests. And don't worry, you're more than capable of doing so!"

When he didn't receive a reply, he turned as best as he could to face Eugene. The other seemed speechless, before a grin spread across his face. "Of course! I will talk to the Head of the Guard tomorrow morning about it!"

Arieh turned fully until he was kneeling in front of the other on the sofa. "I wouldn't want to go without you. This ensures your safety and your place with me as we travel." He grinned back at the older man. Examining the Eugene's face, Arieh felt a swelling of emotion at the warm eyes and tender look directed at him. If they carried on the way they were going, Arieh was going to fall for the dark-haired man quickly. And he had no problem with that whatsoever. He just hoped that Eugene felt the same.

As if he was responding to Arieh's thoughts, Eugene leant forward until their foreheads were pressed together. "I can't wait to spend my future travelling with you." And then he pressed forward further, until their lips pressed against each other in a kiss filled with promise and hope.

**Hey! Firstly, sorry if the ending was sudden - it was for me too! Literally, I wrote the chapter and just felt it was an ending I was happy with. Other than that, I thought that Domhnall Gleeson is a good Niklas. I know he hasn't really been in the last few chapters, and that the relationship between him and Rapunzel kind of dropped off. I was thinking of doing a short 1-2 ish chapter fic about them, just to follow up for any fans :) I hope you enjoyed the story and if you have any feedback, feel free to give it!**


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